Housing Starts Post Unexpected Increase

Home construction turned up unexpectedly in April and showed surprising vigor, making the biggest increase in two years, while building permits also rose, a sign of optimism for the sickly housing sector. Housing starts increased 8.2% to a seasonally adjusted 1.032 million annual rate, driven higher by a surge in apartment building construction, the Commerce Department said. Starts plunged by a revised 13.8% in March to 954,000. Economists expected April starts to drop by 1.4% to a 934,000-unit annual rate.