By: Courtney Schlisserman and Shobhana Chandra
Source: bloomberg.com
Housing starts in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in June as construction of single-family dwellings jumped by the most since 2004, signaling the market is stabilizing even as unemployment worsens.
The 3.6 percent increase brought starts to an annual rate of 582,000, the highest level since November and followed a 562,000 pace in May that was higher than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. A report from the Labor Department showed Georgia and Alabama became the latest states where joblessness topped 10 percent.
“Builders are beginning to see some opportunities to get back to work,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. While a strong rebound is “not likely for some time,” Vitner said, “it seems clear that housing starts bottomed in the first quarter.”
