U.S Home Building Rebounds in April

May 16, 2012
Housing starts are almost back to the average 719,000 pace of January and February, when unseasonably warm winter weather encouraged home construction.

New construction of homes in the United States jumped in April, official data showed Wednesday, in a fresh sign of improvement in the distressed housing market.

Housing starts increased 2.6% from March, to 717,000 units, the Commerce Department said.

That was well above the average analyst forecast of 680,000 starts.

The April surge in starts marked a rebound from March, when new construction dropped a revised 2.6%.

According to the latest numbers, housing starts are almost back to the average 719,000 pace of January and February, when unseasonably warm winter weather encouraged home construction. March weather had returned to a more normal pattern.

Compared with a year ago, April housing starts were up 29.9%.

However, the department's data on building permits, an indicator of future construction, clouded the outlook.

Building permits dropped 7% in April from March, led by a steep 20.8% fall in permits for multi-unit dwellings.

The picture for single-family homes, the largest segment of the housing market, was brighter, with permits rising 1.9%.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012

See Also:

New Idaho Plant to Meet Growing Demand for Modular Housing in Energy

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Shifting Your Business from Products to Service-Based Business Models: Generating Predictable Revenues

Oct. 27, 2023
Executive summary on a recent IndustryWeek-hosted webinar sponsored by SAP

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!