US housing starts rose in Feb., led by single-family homes

WASHINGTON — U.S. builders broke ground on new homes at a faster pace in February, a sign that developers expect solid sales growth this year.

The Commerce Department says housing starts rose 3 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 million. Almost all of those gains came from construction of single-family houses, which rose 6.5 per cent. Construction of apartment buildings fell 7.7 per cent in February.

More Americans are looking to purchase homes as the job market has improved, but the supply of properties for sale has been relatively low. The increase in construction starts points to greater sales, but it has done relatively little to offset the limited inventory. Building permits_an indicator of future home construction_slipped 6.2 per cent in February to an annual rate of 1.2 million.