New US home construction surged in April, mostly in the volatile multi-family sector, while gains were weak in building more economically important single-family homes, government data shows.
The Commerce Department said on Friday that overall starts rose 13.2 per cent from March to an annual pace of 1,072,000 units.
The number of building permits issued - an indicator of future activity - increased 8.0 per cent to an annual rate of 1,080,000.
But in the starts data, single-family units, the largest part of the housing construction sector, were up only 0.8 per cent to a 649,000 unit annual tempo.
During the first four months of the year, including a harsh winter which slowed construction across the country, starts totaled 300,600, up 5.8 per cent from a year earlier, with single-family units rising just 1.7 per cent.
Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said the data suggests "no scope for any near-term revival" of the housing sector, which has slowed in part due to last year's jump in mortgage interest rates.
The gains in multi-family home construction and permits reflect stronger demand for rentals, and the April data "overstates the underlying pace", he said.
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