U.S. Housing Starts Rebound In April But Building Permits Pull Back Sharply

(RTTNews) - While the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing a rebound by new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of April, the report also showed a substantial pullback by building permits during the month.

The Commerce Department said housing starts shot up by 1.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.361 million in April after plummeting by 10.1 percent to a revised rate of 1.339 million in March.

Economists had expected housing starts to surge by 3.5 percent to a rate of 1.370 million from the 1.324 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said building permits plunged by 4.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.412 million in April after jumping by 1.9 percent to a revised rate of 1.481 million in March.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to slump by 2.2 percent to a rate of 1.450 million from the 1.482 million originally reported for the previous month.