The increase in starts was led by a 45 percent gain in the Midwest, though production fell in the Northeast, South, and West. Authorizations for building permits, an indicator of future building activity, also rose in March by 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.544 million units, led by a 17 percent jump in the Midwest.

Privately owned housing completions in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.632 million, a decrease of 0.7 percent from the February estimate of 1.643 million and is 25.9 percent below the March 2006 rate of 2.203 million. Single-family housing completions in March were at a rate of 1.329 million; this is 1.5 percent above the February figure of 1.309 million. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 264,000.