MW: March housing starts up for third straight month
By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - New construction of U.S. houses expanded for the third straight month in March, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. Starts rose 1.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted 626,000 annualized units, strongest than the 610,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. This is the highest level of starts since November 2008. Starts were revised to an increase of 1.1% in February to 616,000 units. This compared with the prior estimate of a 5,9% drop to 575,000 units. Building permits, a leading indicator of housing construction, rose 7.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000. This is the highest level of permits since October 2008.
