Housing starts in US jump to seven-year high

Source:
IHB/RS/Bloomberg
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New residential construction in United States surged in April to the highest level in more than seven years, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department this week.

Housing starts jumped 20.2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.14 million. Starts for single-family homes rose 16.7% to an annual rate of 733,000, the fastest pace since early 2008, while starts in buildings with at least five units rose 31.9% to a pace of 389,000.

Building permits, a sign of future demand, rose 10.1% in April to 1.14 million, the most since mid-2008. Permits for single-family homes increased by 3.7% to an annual rate of 660,000, while permits for apartment by 20% to 444,000.

Analysts attribute this surprising rise to warming weather. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were anticipating a rise for housing starts of up to 1.02 million, thus much lower than data released by US Commerce Department for April.

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