Housing Starts Rebound

Single-family housing starts rebounded 7.7% in March after a sharp dropoff in February, as demand for new homes appears to be holding up better than expected.The Census Bureau has reported that single-family housing starts rose from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million in February to 1.41 million in March. An economist at the National Association of Home Builders noted that the weather might have played a bigger role in February's decline than originally thought. For the first quarter, single-family housing construction is ahead of last year's pace by 4.1%. "The market may be holding up a little bit better than builders" expected, NAHB economist Michael Carliner said. Permits declined in March and may look a "little soft," he said. But the number of unused permits is up by 20% compared with that of a year ago.