Housing Starts Inch Higher

New home construction likely inched higher in October as builders seized on the promise of more orders due largely to a federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Construction of new homes and apartments is expected to grow 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 600,000, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Building permits, seen as a good indicator of future activity, are expected to creep up 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 580,000 units. Builders slammed the brakes on construction after the housing bubble burst, and housing starts plunged to the lowest point in a half-century in April. Construction then began a recovery, rising to the highest level in nine months in August, led by apartment building construction. Housing construction rose a modest 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 590,000 new homes and apartments in September. Applications for new building permits, however, fell 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 573,000 units.

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