This week’s report on U.S.  housing starts from the Census Bureau pegged the March 2008 level at only 947,000 units, seasonally adjusted at an annual rate. This is the first time U.S.  housing starts have dropped below one million units since May 1991. The decline from the latest peak level of housing starts in January 2006, at 2.3 million units, to the present level has been nearly 60%. Nor is there much “sunshine” to be taken from the other two key measures of housing markets that are published along with the starts.