Among 1999's top ten areas in terms of sheer volume of new residential construction, only three - Atlanta, Chicago, and the Washington, DC metropolitan area - were able to build upon their totals through the first five months of this year.

May 2000 total housing starts were at a seasonally-adjusted annualized level of 1.592 million units, down 3.9% from the April total and 3.5% lower than during May of 1999.

The Labor Department''s construction materials composite price index,/b> declined by 0.3% between April and May, erasing all of the gain recorded the month before.

The total number of residential permits issued nationwide during the first five months of this year was 2.2% less than in January-May of 1999.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) fell 4.1% in June from its record-high set the month before.

April 2000 total housing starts were at a seasonally-adjusted annualized level of 1.663 million units, after averaging almost 1.8 million units (annualized) during the December 1999-February 2000 period.

The Smith family of Carlsbad, Calif., exists only on paper as a researcher''s construct of the average home buyer. They are the typical dual-income, two-child household

Among 1999’s top 10 areas in terms of sheer volume of new residential construction, only two - Atlanta and Chicago - have been able to build upon their totals through the first three months of this year.

Single-family building permits in 1999 reached an all-time record of 1,231,811 as GDP hit 6.9% in fourth quarter.