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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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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