Construction of new homes slowed in May as the nation’s home builders were battered by the crisis in subprime lending and rising mortgage rates, the Associated Press reported.

Housing, which is struggling through its biggest downturn in 16 years, is expected to continue to face troubles in the months ahead before starting a sustained rebound in 2008.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments dropped 2.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.474 million units, 24.2 percent below the level of a year ago.

Des Moines-area homes sales and pending sales in May were down slightly from a year ago, and the average price of a home dropped from $173,377 to $164,952, according to Des Moines Area Association of Realtors’ real estate market statistics. However, the average days spent on the market for homes in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties dropped for the second month in a row to 83, an improvement over last month (87) and last year.