Housing starts surge on apartment construction
Single-family starts continue decline to 17-year low
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last update: 8:30 a.m. EDT May 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. home builders broke ground on 8.2% more homes in April, led by a 36% increase in multi-family units, the Commerce Department estimated Friday.
Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.032 million, far more than the 954,000 estimated for March or the 939,000 expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. It was the third increase in the past four months.
Starts of single-family homes declined for the 12th straight month, falling 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 692,000, the lowest since January 1991.
The increase is certain to bolster the argument of those who see a bottom in the housing slump. Others say that market suffers from a severe oversupply of homes and the last thing the market needs is new construction.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1531442420080516
April housing starts, permits up more than forecast
Fri May 16, 2008 8:42am EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Construction starts on new U.S. homes rose by a surprisingly strong 8.2 percent in April and applications for new building permits turned up for the first time in five months, the Commerce Department said on Friday in a report showing that the hard-hit housing sector still had some spring vigor.
Starts in April ran at a 1.032-million-unit annual rate, up from a revised 954,000-unit rate in March, while permits gained 4.9 percent to 978,000 a year from a revised 932,000 in March.
That was a significantly stronger performance than anticipated by economists surveyed by Reuters who had forecast April starts at a 940,000-unit rate and permits at 920,000 a year.
Construction has suffered as the housing industry copes with a wave of foreclosures and with inventories of unsold homes stemming from a subprime mortgage crisis that has made lenders wary and put pressure on builders to curb their inventories.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and top Federal Reserve policy-makers have identified the housing downturn as the biggest single risk for the economy and Congress has been working feverishly on proposals for guaranteeing shaky mortgage loans to try to save homeowners from losing their homes.
On Thursday night, housing industry sources indicated that leaders of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee had reached a deal on a broad housing rescue plan in which mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will support a federal mortgage insurance fund.
The $300 billion fund would be run by the Federal Housing Administration and would offer loan guarantees to help refinance distressed mortgages, with borrowers agreeing to forgive portions of troubled loans.
(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Joanne Morrison)