Housing Starts Rise in August

Housing starts rose 2.3% in August, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Starts rose to an annual rate of 750,000 units, from a revised 733,000 in July, which were originally reported at 746,000.

The August level was lower than economists’ median forecast of a 767,000 rate, Bloomberg reported.

Single-family home starts rose 5.5% to a 535,000 rate, the fastest since April 2010.

Work on multifamily units, which are often more volatile, dropped 4.9 % to an annual rate of 215,000.

Starts rose 21% in the Midwest and 3.7% in the South.