By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
The rate of permitting for construction of single-family housing and residential construction completions were both down in March, Housing starts did rise slightly.
The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that permits for privately owned housing were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,039,000 in March, a 5.7 percent drop from the February rate of 1,102,000 (revised from an original estimate of 1,092,000), and short of the forecast of 1,080,000. The March number was an increase of 2.9 percent from 1,010,000 a year earlier.
