-->U.S. housing starts up sharply in May
Volatile multi-family sector surges, single family +1.5%

By Rachel Koning, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:34 AM ET June 17, 2003







WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - Post-war relief, enticing mortgage rates and demand for multi-family dwellings lifted U.S. housing starts in May following a few sluggish months, the latest government figures showed Tuesday.



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Housing units started rose 6.1 percent to a 1.732 million-unit annualized rate in May, according to the Commerce Department. The increase was owed in large part to a 35 percent surge in groundbreaking for apartment and condominium buildings.

It was the biggest one-month increase for the volatile multi-family sector since December 1998, Commerce officials confirmed.

But the closely watched single-family home sector recorded a 1.5 percent increase in construction starts in May, bringing the level to 1.38 million and back near where it was before the fighting in Iraq began.



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