U.S. housing starts rise 0.8% in February

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U.S. housing starts rise 0.8% in February
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Construction on new U.S. homes nudged up 0.8% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000, with modest gains for single-family homes and apartments, as longer-term trends also signaled a housing market that continues to strengthen, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected construction starts in February to rise to a rate of 913,000 from an original January estimate of 890,000. On Tuesday the government upwardly revised January's starts rate to 910,000. Looking at less volatile longer-term trends, starts in February were up 28% from the same period in the prior year, but remain below a bubble peak of almost 2.3 million in 2006. Starts for single-family homes rose 0.5% in February to a rate of 618,000, the highest level since June 2008. Meanwhile, starts for structures with at least five units increased 0.7% to a rate of 285,000. The government also reported Tuesday that building permits, a sign of future demand, rose 4.6% in February to a rate of 946,000, also hitting the highest rate since June 2008.