Builders’ starts on homes up 3.2%
U.S. builders started work on more single-family homes in May and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in three and a half years.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders broke ground on 3.2 percent more single-family homes in May, the third straight monthly increase.
Overall housing starts fell 4.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 708,000. That was entirely because of a 21.3 percent plunge in apartment construction, which can be volatile from month to month.
