By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - New construction of U.S. houses surged in August, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday. Starts rose 10.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted 598,000 annualized units, much stronger than the 535,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. This is the highest level since April. Starts in July were revised down slightly to a 541,000 rate compared with prior estimate of 546,000. Starts of new single-family homes rose 4.3% to a 438,000 rate in August, while starts of large apartment units rose 32.2% to 160,000. Building permits, a leading indicator of housing construction, rose 1.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,000.
