Construction Starts, Permits Rise in February

Washington, DC, March 19, 2013 -- Construction starts on new homes edged up 0.8% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000, according to the Department of Commerce.

Meanwile, building permits rose 4.6% in February to a rate of 946,000, the highest rate since June 2008.

There were gains in construction starts for both single-family homes and apartments.

Economists had a rate of 913,000.

The government also revised January's starts rate higher to 910,000. Starts remaim well below the peak of nearly 2.3 million in 2006.

Starts for single-family homes rose 0.5% in February to a rate of 618,000, the highest level since June 2008. Multifamily starts rose 0.7% to a rate of 285,000.