WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — In a show of housing-market vitality, the pace of construction started on new U.S. homes in April jumped to the strongest level since the onset of the Great Recession, the government reported Tuesday.
Construction started on new U.S. homes sprang up 20.2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.14 million. That’s the biggest monthly percentage gain in housing in more than 24 years and the highest level since November 2007, the U.S. Commerce Department reported.
“The April data also strengthen the view that the weakness in February and March was largely transitory and likely caused by harsh weather conditions,” Robert Wetenhall, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a research note.
Starts for single-family housing rose 16.7% to an annual rate of 733,000, the fastest pace since early 2008, while starts in buildings with at least five units jumped 31.9% to a pace of 389,000.
Economists particularly like to see growth for single-family-home building, which costs more and creates more jobs than building one apartment. That’s why Tuesday’s data on single-family homes were particularly heartening, said David Crowe, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders.
“Home buyers have been reluctant to buy until there is a clear sign that the economy, and more particularly their own future, is more positive. As employment grows and some wages increase and as home equity improves, some of those households break out of their concerns and are beginning to shop for a new home,” Crowe said.
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