Housing Starts Rise to Highest Level Since 2008

Housing starts rose 6.9% in June to the highest level in almost four years, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. 

Starts rose to an annual rate of 760,000 units, the highest level since October 2008, from a revised 711,000 in May.

The level topped economists’ median forecast of a 745,000 rate, Bloomberg reported.

Single-family home starts, rose 4.7% to a 539,000 rate, the fastest since April 2010.

Work on multifamily units, which are often more volatile, decreased 12.8 % to an annual rate of 221,000.

Starts climbed 36.9% in the West, and 22.2% in the Northeast, Commerce said.