U.S. Housing Starts Rebound Less Than Expected In April
(RTTNews) - New residential construction in the U.S. rebounded in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, although the increase fell short of economist estimates.
The report said housing starts surged by 5.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.360 million in April after plummeting by 16.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.287 million in March.
Economists had expected housing starts to spike by 7.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.420 million from the 1.321 million originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said building permits tumbled by 3.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.440 million in April after plunging by 5.0 percent to a revised rate of 1.485 million in March.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to jump by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.480 million from the 1.458 million originally reported for the previous month.