Housing Starts Spring Upwards in March

Home builders had a busy month in March as housing starts jumped 19.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million. According to the report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, starts were 37% higher than the rate one year ago. Construction started on 1.24 million single-family homes in March, up 15.3% from February, while apartment-style homes of five units jumped 30% to 477,000.

Housing starts climbed at their fastest pace for residential construction since June 2006, said the National Association of Home Builders. Starts soared 112.8% in the Midwest with the arrival of spring weather. Elsewhere, starts were 64% higher in the Northeast and 13% higher in the South, but fell 13.6% in the West.