WALL STREET JOURNAL via azcentral.com.
The company says the value of new construction will decline 1 percent next year to $668 billion, compared with an expected rise of 1 percent for 2006 and a 12 percent increase in 2005. McGraw-Hill said the expected decline was due mostly to a 5 percent fall in construction of single-family homes. But the overall drop also reflects a 3 percent slide in construction of stores and shopping centers, a component closely tied to population growth and home-building trends.