Nineteen-ninety-nine’s top two areas in terms of sheer volume of new residential construction -- Atlanta and Phoenix - got off to dramatically different starts during the first month of the new year.

The Labor Department’s construction materials composite price index rose by 0.5% between December 1999 and January of this year

The total number of residential permits issued nationwide during the first month of this year was a slight 0.5% lower than in January 1999.

The Conference Board’s composite Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) fell slightly in February from its record-high set during the first month of the new year.

January 2000 total housing starts were at a seasonally-adjusted annualized level of 1.775 million units, the best monthly level recorded since January 1999.

The Labor Department’s construction materials composite price index rose by 0.2% between November and December of last year.

The Conference Board’s composite Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) climbed to a record-high during the first month of the new year.

Preliminary numbers for the full year of 1999 show a pattern of the single-family sector doing much better than the multifamily residential construction market.

The Labor Department's construction materials composite price index fell by 0.8% between August and September, the second straight month of decline following three consecutive months of increase.