Housing starts rise, but permits fallU.S. housing...

Housing starts rise, but permits fall

U.S. housing starts rebounded strongly, and unexpectedly, in March. But permits, an indicator of builder confidence in future sales, fell a 7% the biggest monthly drop since March 2002, the Commerce Department said.

Groundbreaking for homes climbed 8.3%, the largest rise since September, to a seasonally adjusted 1.780-million-unit annual rate from an upwardly revised 1.644 million in February. Permits dipped to a seasonally adjusted annual 1.685 million from a revised 1.811-million rate. Starts rose in all regions but the West, where groundbreaking for homes fell 4.5%.