US housing starts jump 8.2% in April

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US housing starts and permits showed a surprisingly strong jump in April, signaling a glimmer of hope in the troubled housing market, government data showed Friday.

New home construction starts rose 8.2 percent from March to an annual rate of 1.032 million units, the Commerce Department said.

The jump is the strongest since January 2006 and sharply higher than analysts' consensus forecast for a cutback in April to 940,000 units.

Construction permits, an indicator of future activity in the housing sector, climbed a robust 4.9 percent in April to 978,000 units, soundly topping analyst expectations of 912,000 units.

For March, the Commerce Department revised higher housing starts to 954,000 units, from a prior estimate of 947,000, and...