WASHINGTON – HOUSING construction rose in August to the highest level in nine months as a big surge in apartment building offset a decline in single-family activity.
The August performance was another sign that the US housing industry has begun to recover from its worst downturn in decades.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that construction of new homes and apartments rose 1.5 per cent to an annual rate of 598,000 units last month. That is slightly lower than the 600,000-unit pace that economists had forecast.
The increase pushed building activity to the highest level since last November and left home construction 24.8 per cent above the record low hit back in April.
Applications for building permits, a good forecaster of future activity, posted a 2.7 per cent rise in August to an annual rate of 579,000 units, slightly below the 580,000 level that had been forecast. Permits for single-family homes dipped by 0.2 per cent while multifamily units rose by 15.8 per cent.
The 1.5 per cent rise in housing starts followed a small 0.2 per cent dip in July. The August strength came from a 25.3 per cent surge in construction of multifamily units, a volatile sector which had fallen by 15.2 per cent in July. Continue reading
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