A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of March.
The Commerce Department said housing starts skyrocketed by 19.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.739 million in March after plunging by 11.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.457 million in February.
Economists had expected housing starts to spike by 13.5 percent to a rate of 1.613 million from the 1.421 million originally reported for the previous month.
With the bigger than expected increase, housing starts reached their highest level since hitting an annual rate of 1.802 million in June of 2006.
Meanwhile, the report showed building permits jumped by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.766 million in March after tumbling by 8.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.720 million in February.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to surge up by 4.0 percent to a rate of 1.750 million from the 1.682 million originally reported for the previous month.
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