Housing Starts, Building Permits Improve

Housing starts rose in March, while building permits increased to the highest level in almost a year and a half, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Starts rose 1.6% to an annual rate of 626,000 units, following February’s revised 616,000 rate.

The level was higher than economists’ projections of a 610,000 rate, Bloomberg reported.

Building permits, an indicator of future construction, jumped 7.5% to a 685,000 annual rate, the highest since October 2008.

Economists had predicted permits would fall to a 610,000 annual rate.