Connecticut housing permits were down 50 percent in the first three months of year, according to state figures.
Cities and towns statewide issued 500 permits to build new houses in the quarter ended March 31, down from 1,091 in the 2008 first quarter, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development. In the first quarter of 2006, permits reached 1,954.
Norwich led all Connecticut communities with 71 home-building permits issued in the first quarter, followed by: Danbury (16); Stamford and Wallingford (9); Middletown (7); Greenwich and Milford (6) Bridgeport (5); and Fairfield and Oxford (4).
