A new economic report from the United States Commerce Department indicates that housing construction has been massively impacted by the COVID-19-related economic crisis that is currently gripping the country. 

According to the department, the number of construction groundbreakings that took place in March stood at 1.2 million, down from February’s 1.56 million starts. That drop, a 23% reduction, comes after a strong winter quarter for home construction that saw housing numbers rise to relative highs. 

According to the latest report, condominium and apartment starts, which were also surging in late-2019, cratered by 32.1%. The grim figures, CNBC reports, represent the worst drop in housing construction activity since March of 1984 when they fell by more than 26%. 

The news comes as homebuilders grow increasingly weary over the near-term economic prospects for the industry, which has been particularly hard hit by not just by construction stoppages and other efforts put in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus but also by sagging consumer confidence, CNBC reports. 

A significant percentage of architecture firms derive a majority of their work from housing projects, so the downward shift is a bad sign for designers as well as contractors and big business home builders. 

A recent survey of residential firms conducted by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) indicates that firms are expecting the number of design inquiries and contract executions to drop significantly over coming months. 

To help collect and digest the latest COVID-19 related architecture news, Archinect has put together a COVID-19 guide for architects and designers here. For economy- and construction-specific news, check out Archinect’s Guide to 2020’s Economy and Business news. These articles are updated every Wednesday and Friday, respectively.