MW: Housing starts up 5.8%, while permits plunge 11.5%
By Rex Nutting
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. housing starts increased for the second straight month in April to an 18-month high, the government estimated, but building permits fell sharply, casting doubts on the momentum of the housing recovery. Housing starts rose an estimated 5.8% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 672,000 from an upwardly revised 635,000 in March, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. However, building permits fell 11.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 606,000, the lowest in six months. Permits for single-family homes, considered by many analysts to be the number in the housing release, fell 10.7% to a 484,000 annual rate.
