Housing Starts Jump; Multi-Family Projects Soar

Washington, DC, May 16, 2008--U.S. housing starts and permits showed a surprisingly strong jump of 8.2 percent in April, according to the Commerce Department.

New home construction starts rose 8.2 percent from March to an annual rate of 1.032 million units.

The jump is the strongest since January 2006 and far higher than analysts' consensus forecast for a cutback in April to 940,000 units.

Construction permits also rose 4.9 percent in April to 978,000 units, topping analyst expectations of 912,000 units.

For March, the Commerce Department revised higher housing starts to 954,000 units, from a prior estimate of 947,000.

Housing starts had fallen in March to a 17-year low.

On a 12-month basis, April housing starts were down 30.6 percent and permits fell 34.3 percent.

All  of the additional building took place on multi-family homes. Starts on single-family homes fell to their lowest level in 17 years, the Commerce Department said.

New construction of single-family homes, a better and more stable indicator of new home trends, fell 1.7 percent to a 692,000-unit rate, the lowest level since January 1991.

Starts of homes for five or more families increased 40.5 percent to an annual rate of 326,000 units.