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US housing starts rose 2.3 per cent in August, buoyed by single-family construction

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In this Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, photo, a customer walks past building products at a Home Depot store in Nashville, Tenn. U.S. builders started construction on more homes in August, driven by the fastest pace of single-family home construction in more than two years. The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments rose 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 750,000 last month. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

WASHINGTON – U.S. builders started construction on more homes in August, driven by the fastest pace of single-family home construction in more than two years.

The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments rose 2.3 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 750,000 last month.

Single-family housing starts rose 5.5 per cent to an annual rate of 535,000 homes, the best pace since April 2010. Apartment construction fell 4.9 per cent. Applications for building permits fell 1 per cent to an annual rate of 803,000, down from a four-year high in July.

Even with the gains, the rate of construction and level of permits still remain only about half the pace considered healthy.

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