Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is blaming the 16-day partial shutdown for a second delay in its monthly reporting on U.S. home construction.
The Commerce Department says it will now release information on how quickly builders started and completed homes in October and September on Dec. 18, instead of on Tuesday.
The October housing starts report was originally scheduled for release on Nov. 19, but was rescheduled for Nov. 26 after the government reopened. The release of the September report was initially scheduled for Oct. 17 and has also been rescheduled twice.
On Tuesday, the government will still release the annual pace at which developers requested permits to build homes in October and September.
The government says that the lapse in funding during the shutdown slowed data collection for housing starts and completions.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
