Advertisement

New-home construction soars in April, beats expectations

Share via

Builders ramped up construction of new homes in April, providing a jolt to a slowing housing market and the broader economic recovery.

Housing starts jumped 13.2% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,072,000 -- the highest since November, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The gain surpassed analysts’ expectations and came largely from the more volatile multi-family sector.

Economists polled by Bloomberg News had expected a rate of about 980,000.

The surge comes as the housing recovery has shown signs of cooling. New construction has been muted in recent months, a trend economists blamed partly on severe winter weather across much of the country.

Advertisement

Would-be home buyers have also struggled to afford houses after swift price increases last year locked some out of the market.

Those affordability pressures, along with a shortage of ready-to-build lots, have builders worried. On Thursday, the National Assn. of Home Builders reported builder confidence fell in May to the lowest level in a year.

Still, builders reported growing optimism for future sales. And for the moment, construction has picked up amid warmer weather across the nation.

Advertisement

Housing starts climbed in all regions. In the West, a major home-building region, starts climbed 11.1% from March.

Nationally, builders started new single-family homes at a 0.8% faster rate compared with the previous month; much of the gain came from apartment building.

Building permits, a gauge of future construction, jumped 8% nationwide, the Commerce Department said.

Advertisement
Advertisement