Housing Starts Rose in August

Housing Starts Rose in August
Housing starts rose 10.5 percent in August to an annual rate of 598,000 homes, the most since April, the Commerce Department announced Monday.

Housing starts were up 2.2 percent in August compared to the same month last year, while permits decreased 6.7 percent.

Construction of single-family houses rose 4.3 percent to a 438,000 annual rate after declining 6.7 percent in July.

Construction of multi-family homes increased 32 percent to an annual pace of 160,000.

Housing starts increased 7 percent in the South, 34.3 percent in the West, and 21.7 percent in the Midwest. Starts fell 24.3 percent in the Northeast.

Source: Bloomberg, Courtney Schlisserman (09/21/2010)