Washington, DC, June 20, 2006--New construction of houses increased 5% in May after three months of declines, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday.
Despite weakening confidence among builders, housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.96 million in May, stronger than the 1.86 million pace expected by economists.
Starts of single-family houses rose 2.1% to 1.59 million in May, while starts of large apartment units rose 19.7% to 371,000.
Building permits, a leading indicator of housing construction, fell 2.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.93 million from 1.97 million in April.
