While the market for single-family homes remains deeply troubled, developers of apartment buildings are moving ahead with new construction -- likely expecting rising rents from tightening rental vacancy rates due to displaced homeowners.
"Home construction turned up unexpectedly in April and showed surprising vigor, making the biggest increase in two years. However, the increase was driven by a surge in multi-family housing, while single-family starts dropped.
Housing starts increased 8.2% to a seasonally adjusted 1.032 million annual rate, driven higher by a surge in apartment building construction, the Commerce Department said Friday. Starts plunged 13.8% in March to 954,000, the data showed; Commerce initially estimated March starts down 11.9% to 947,000.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected April starts to drop by 1.4% to a 934,000-unit annual rate. The 8.2% increase was the largest monthly climb since a 14.0% jump in January 2006.
But year over year, housing starts were 30.6% below the level of construction in April 2007.
"The headline increase in starts means nothing; it is all due to a rebound in the hugely volatile, but essentially trendless, multi-family sector," said Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics."
FULL STORY: Housing Starts Post Surprise Rise
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