Housing starts jump to 7-year high, construction permits rise

Washington

NEW residential construction in the US surged in April to the highest level in more than seven years, indicating that the industry regained its footing after the soft patch at the beginning of the year.

Housing starts jumped 20.2 per cent to a 1.14 million annualised rate, the most since November 2007, from a 944,000 pace in March, a Commerce Department report showed on Tuesday in Washington. More permits, a proxy for future construction, were issued than at any time since June 2008.

An improving labour market and mortgage costs close to multi-year lows are reviving residential construction, a sign that the weakness in early 2015 was probably due to harsh winter weather. Builders including PulteGroup Inc have said the spring selling season is off to a good start, and sentiment data for May showed developers are optimistic about the next six mont…