home construction rebounded in July, rising to an eight-month high and offering
hope that housing has regained momentum after two months of declines.
Construction increased 15.7 percent in July to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million homes, the Commerce Department reported
Tuesday. That was the fastest pace since November and followed declines of 4
percent in June and 7.4 percent in May.
Applications for building permits, considered a good sign of
future activity, also showed strength in July, advancing 8.1 percent to an
annual rate of 1.05 million, after declines of 3.1 percent in June and 5.1
percent in May.
The July rebound reflected strength in single-family home
construction, which rose 8.3 percent, and in apartment construction, which was
up 33 percent.
The strength in July was led by a 44 percent rise in
construction starts in the Northeast. Housing construction was up 29 percent in
the South, recovering from a 26.8 percent plunge the month before blamed in
part on heavy rains in that part of the country. Sales rose 18.6 percent in the
West but fell 24.8 percent in the
