Housing construction across the country fell 8.5 percent during Januaury to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890,000, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Not such bad news when you consider that the declines were attributed to a 24-percent decline in multi-family starts. Construction of single-family houses actually rose 0.8 percent to the highest level since January 2008.

Here's a link to the full report, and more data from Commerce.