US Housing starts dropped unexpectedly in April to its lowest figure on record. New home construction slid by 13% to 458,000 when forecasts expected at least a figure over 500,000. Single family homes increased by 2.8%, but multifamily homes (apartments, townhouses, etc) dropped to almost a third of the March figures.
Geographically the largest decline was in the Northeast of the US with a 31% drop, in comparison the West rose by 43% but not enough to upset the downward slde in the South and Midwest (21%).
The lack of new homes reaching the market and inventories being reduced is being seen as a positive sign of recovery in the second part of the year by analysts.
Fore more US and International employment data check FXEconostats
