U S League Of Savings Institutions

Sales of new single-family homes fell 8% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 671,000 units, the Commerce Department said today. Last month's sales drop was the sharpest monthly decline since May, 1987, when sales fell 11.6%. Despite the decline, November home sales were 7.4% above their November, 1987, rate of 625,000 units, the department said. Economists said the numbers, though disappointing, did not come as a surprise.

Housing construction in November reached its highest level in seven months, the government said today in a report cited as further evidence of a robust economy. The Commerce Department said new homes and apartments were built at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.56 million units last month, up from the 1.54 million rate in October. It was the third increase in a row and the highest level of construction activity since April. Housing starts soared 5.1% in October and rose 0.4% in September.

Housing construction dropped 8.2% in 1988 to its lowest level in six years, the government reported today, but analysts said the industry remained in good shape. Construction of both single-family homes and apartments fell during 1988 to leave total housing starts at 1.49 million units. It was the poorest showing since the recession year of 1982, when 1.06 million units were built.

Construction spending climbed 0.8% in November, reflecting an increase in work on homes and government projects that more than offset slower building of offices and shopping malls, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. November's seasonally adjusted construction spending--at an annual rate of $411.1 billion--marked the third consecutive monthly increase. Revised figures put spending at $407.8 billion in October, $406.9 billion in September and $403.2 billion in August.

The Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the primary regulatory agency for the nation's 3,200 savings and loan associations, moved Friday to raise $250 million for the sagging fund that insures depositor accounts up to $100,000 in case an S&L fails. The FHLBB said it will assess a special charge on the entire industry, amounting to 1/32 of 1% of deposits at each institution. The money will be added to the $6-billion insurance fund administered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Americans' personal income rose 0.5% last month in what analysts viewed as another signal that the economy, while far from booming, is not poised for a nose dive. Also in line with that scenario was a separate Commerce Department report Wednesday that showed housing starts climbing a modest 1.9% in June after a sharp drop in the previous month. "Kind of even-keel reports," said Michael K. Evans of Evans Economics in Washington.

Americans took on $6.31 billion more in installment debt than they paid off in August, only slightly more than the July level, the government reported Wednesday. The Federal Reserve Board said the August increase was only $65 million higher than the $6.25 billion in debt taken out in July. Some analysts had predicted a bigger increase for August based on the surge in auto sales that occurred during the month as buyers responded to attractive financing deals being offered by auto makers.

Home construction dropped slightly last month from the two-year high reached in January, the government reported Tuesday. However, analysts dismissed the decline as only a small setback in what remains a boom time for housing. The Commerce Department reported that construction of homes and apartments edged down 3.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.99 million units.

House and Senate negotiators approved legislation Wednesday that would allow the insolvent Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corp. to borrow $8.5 billion to try to rescue the thrift industry from bankruptcy. However, Sen. Jake Garn (R-Utah), the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said he still believes that the bill might be vetoed by President Reagan because the White House had proposed a $15-billion bailout.

The U.S. League of Savings Institutions said Tuesday that it supported only a short-term effort to shore up the federal fund that insures deposits in savings and loan institutions. League officials also warned that many of its members were considering bolting the fund altogether if its rescue package does not win congressional approval. Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corp.