By Robert Hughes
Housing construction activity sank in April as starts fell by 30.2 percent, while new permits dropped 20.8 percent. Total housing starts dropped to 891,000 at an annual rate from a 1.276 million pace in March, the slowest pace since February 2015. The dominant single-family segment, which accounts for about three-fourths of new home construction, decreased 25.4 percent for the month to a rate of 650,000 units, also the slowest since 2015. Starts of multifamily structures with five or more units slumped 40.3 percent to 234,000, the worst since June 2013. From a