The Commerce Department reported that new construction of U.S. houses and apartments fell 22.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted 479,000 annualized units, missing consensus estimates of 570,000. Starts are at the lowest level since April of 2009, when it fell to 477,000. Starts had risen 18.4% in January, while falling 11.8% to 275,000 in February. Building permits fell 8.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000, which is the lowest level of permits on record.