Construction of new U.S. single-family homes rose for the fifth consecutive month in July, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The pace of single-family home construction rose nearly 2 percent, and building permits for future construction jumped almost 6 percent. Despite the improvement in single-family housing starts, construction is still more than 70 percent below its peak in early 2006, and apartment construction fell 13 percent in July from the previous month. Therefore, the combined starts of houses and apartments were down 1 percent in July to an annual rate of 581,000 units from a rate of 587,000 in June. While the worst of the housing bust is over, builders are increasing production cautiously because the market is still flooded with deeply discounted foreclosures.
