Housing Construction Dips in April

WASHINGTON ?EUR??,,????'??+ Housing construction projects dipped in April, according to the Commerce Department, measuring in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.97 million. April?EUR??,,????'???s number represents a 2.1 percent decline from March. As mortgages rates rise, the housing market is expected to cool slightly this year from what has been a red-hot market over the last several years. Homebuilders, meanwhile, feel good about sales prospects for May as well as for the next six months, even as mortgage rates have been moving upward. ?EUR??,,????'??Robust job growth and solid home-price appreciation and favorable interest rates that remain low and attractive by historical standards point to an upbeat outlook for housing,?EUR??,,????'?? said National Association of Home Builders President Bobby Rayburn. Home sales, powered by super-low mortgage rates, set record highs last year. According to the NAHB, some economists believe home sales this year could see their second-best year on record. In April, starts of single-family homes dipped 0.6 percent to a 1.61 million rate from March's 1.62 million rate. Starts of multifamily units, however, sank 8.4 percent to an estimated 359,000 from 392,000. Starts grew modestly in all regions except the West, where they fell 13.7 percent to 447,000, the lowest in a year. Permits for single-family homes fell 0.7 percent to a 1.54 million rate, while permits for multifamily units rose 8.3 percent to 459,000. In April, a record 1.67 million single-family homes were completed, up 11.9 percent from March's 1.49 million. In all of 2003, 1.85 million homes were started. Through the first four months of 2004, unadjusted starts are about 15 percent higher than in the first four months of 2003.