Housing Starts Gain 2.6%; Permits Slip 7.0% in April

WASHINGTON — Housing starts rose 2.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 in April from the upwardly revised 699,000 for March, originally reported as 654,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Building permits fell 7.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 715,000 in April from the upwardly revised March rate of 769,000, originally reported as 747,000. The upward revision for March made that month the strongest for permits since 797,000 were issued in September 2008.

April housing starts were well above the median 683,000 projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and were 29.9% above the April 2011 rate of 552,000.

Building permits for April were below the median 726,000 projected by the economists but were 23.7% above the April 2011 estimate of 578,000.

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