Housing Starts in U.S. Increase, Extending See-Saw Pattern
Source: Bloomberg
New-home construction rose in April, extending a pattern of gains and losses that signals the U.S. homebuilding industry is contributing little to economic growth.
Residential starts increased 6.6 percent to a 1.17 million annualized rate from 1.1 million in March, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday in Washington. The median forecast of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected an increase to a 1.13 million rate. Permits, a proxy for future construction, also climbed.
The rebound in construction from the prior month’s slump keeps housing on a stable if uninspiring path as the world’s largest economy tries to move past disappointing first-quarter growth. While wages have been slow to pick up, prospects for further improvement in employment could sustain orders for new homes.
“This is a fairly volatile series,” said Gus Faucher, an economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh. “The general trend has been higher, and I think that’s what we’ll see through the rest of this year,” amid low mortgage rates, steady job growth, rising wages, and pent-up demand, he said.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-17/housing-starts-in-u-s-rose-in-april-extending-see-saw-pattern
