The pace of US home construction advanced 2.5% last month, but building permit activity, which signals future construction plans, sunk to the lowest pace in nearly a decade, official figures showed today.
The Commerce Department said housing starts hit a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.528 million. That was above the 1.490 million pace analysts were expecting.
However, building permits dropped in April by 8.9% to a pace of 1.429 million units. That was the slowest pace since June 1997.
Even though housing starts increased last month to the highest pace since December 2006, they were down 16% from a year ago and, in a sign the troubled US housing market may not be turning the corner as quickly as hoped, building permits were off 28.1% from a year ago.
Yesterday a survey by the National Association of Home Builders showed that a sentiment index gauging the mood of the building industry had fallen to its lowest level since September last year.
