US home building climbs 12.3% in August to 12-year high

US home building climbs 12.3% in August to 12-year high | iNFOnews.ca
In this Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019 photo a sign rests in front of a newly constructed home, in Westwood, Mass. On Wednesday, Sept. 18, the Commerce Department reports on U.S. home construction in August. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

WASHINGTON – The pace of U.S. home construction jumped 12.3% last month to a 12-year high on a surge in apartment building.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million, most since June 2007 and up from a revised 1.22 million, as builders overcame a shortage of skilled workers and available land.

Construction of single-family homes rose 4.4% to 919,000. Building of apartments and condominiums surged 30.9% —biggest monthly gain since December 2016 — to 424,000.

Residential construction rose 30.5% in the Northeast, 15.4% in the Midwest and 14.9% in the South but was unchanged in the West.

In another good sign for the housing market, permits, a signal of future building, rose 7.7% to 1.42 million, highest since May 2007.

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