BusinessWeek Online - The housing market may be loosening up a bit, but the consumer mood is the darkest it has been since the Carter Administration, according to two economic reports released May 16.
U.S. housing starts rebounded 8.2%, to a 1.032 million-unit annual pace in April, from a revised 0.954 million rate in March (from 0.947 million previously). February’s 1.075 million pace was revised up to 1.107 million. The consensus forecast of economists was for a drop to 940,000. Housing starts are still down 30.6% from a year ago.
The April increase was entirely in multifamily starts (up 40.5%). Single-family starts dropped 1.7%, to 692,000. The increase was concentrated in the Midwest (up 24.4%) and the West (up 18.5%). Starts were down 12.7% in the East and up 3.6% in the South. Building permits rose 4.9%, to 978,000.
Housing Will Continue to Stunt Growth
Starts continue to do better than expected, which is good news for U.S. economic growth, notes S&P Economics. “We do not think the (housing) problem is over…
