Wednesday, May 16, 2007

April housing starts up 2.5 pct, permits fall

(Reuters) - Building permits, which signal future construction plans, dropped in April by 8.9 percent to a pace of 1.429 million units. That was the slowest pace since June of 1997 when the pace stood at 1.402 million and well below expectations for 1.525 million units.

Even though housing starts increased in April to the highest pace since December 2006, they were down 16 percent from a year ago and, in a sign the troubled housing market may not be turning the corner as quickly as hoped, building permits were off 28.1 percent from a year ago.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

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