NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Initial construction of U.S. homes and applications for building permits both surged in June, according to government figures released Friday.
Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 582,000, up 3.6% from a revised 562,000 in May, according to the Commerce Department.
Economists were expecting housing starts to increase to an annual rate of 524,000 units, according to a consensus estimate gathered by Briefing.com.
Single-family housing starts were especially strong, up 14.4% on a month-over-month basis. It was the biggest surge in that measure, considered the core of the housing market, since December 2004.
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