Housing starts rise more than expected

Housing starts rose more than expected, while building permits disappointed.

Starts surged by 6.6% in April to 1.172 million. Economists were expecting housing starts to rise 3.3% to 1.125 million.

Meanwhile, building permits rose only by 3.6% to 1.116 million, below expecations of a 5.5% rise to 1.135 million in April.

Last month, housing starts fell 8.8% at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.089 million, while building permits fell 7.7% at an annualized pace of 1.086 million.