WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. homebuilders broke the 1 millionmark in March, the highest level since
June 2008. The gain signalscontinued strength for the housing recovery at the start of the springbuying
season.The overall pace of homes started rose 7 percentfrom February to March to a seasonally adjusted
rate of 1.04 million,the Commerce Department said Tuesday.Apartment construction,which tends to
fluctuate sharply from month to month, led the surge: Itjumped nearly 31 percent to an annual rate of
417,000, the fastest pacesince January 2006.By contrast, single-family home building,which makes up
nearly two-thirds of the market, fell 4.8 percent to anannual rate of 619,000. That was down from
February’s pace of 650,000,the fastest since May 2008. The government said February’s pace was asharp
5.2 percent higher than it had previously estimated.Applicationsfor building permits, a gauge of future
construction, declined 3.9percent to an annual rate of 902,000. It was down from February’s rateof
939,000, which was also nearly a five-year high.Paul Ashworth,chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics,
called the data "obviouslygood news." But he noted that the surge was due to a jump in
volatileapartment construction and said the pace of building could drop inApril.Steady job growth, near
record-low mortgage rates andrising home values have encouraged more people to buy. In response tohigher
demand and a low supply of available homes for sale, buildershave stepped up construction.March’s pace
of homes started was nearly 46 percent higher than in the same month in 2012.Housingconstruction fell
5.8 percent in the Northeast but gained in the restof the country, led by a 10.9 percent rise in the
South. It rose 9.6percent in the Midwest and 2.7 percent in the West.The NationalAssociation of Home
Builders/Wells Fargo April survey released Mondayshowed that builders are concerned that limited land
and rising costsfor building materials and labor could slow sales in the short term.That led to a third
straight monthly drop in confidence.Still,the builders’ outlook for sales over the next six months
climbed to thehighest level in more than six years, suggesting that the obstaclescould be temporary.And
construction firms have stepped up hiringin recent months. They added 18,000 jobs in March and 169,000
sinceSeptember, according to the Labor Department.Though new homesrepresent only a fraction of the
housing market, they have an outsizeimpact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three
jobsfor a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according tostatistics from the
homebuilders.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.