Home Construction Starts Best in Over Two Years

Washington, DC, Sept. 19, 2012 -- New home construction rose in August as single-family home starts hit their highest level in more than two years.

Construction starts rose 2.3% to a 750,000 annual rate.

However, that was less than forecast as there was a drop in the building of apartments

Economists called for 767,000 starts.

Construction of single-family houses increased 5.5% to a 535,000 rate, the best since April 2010.

Permits for single family homes increased 0.2% to a 512,000 annual pace, the highest since March 2010. Overall permits fell slightly to 803,000.

Work on apartments and other multifamily homes dropped 4.9% to an annual rate of 215,000.


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