Housing Woes Far From Over

Housing Woes Far From Over

Even though home building rose in March, economists cautioned that a look inside the numbers shows the worst is far from over for the battered housing sector.

The Census Bureau reported that housing starts rose to an annual pace of 1.52 million in March from a revised 1.51 million rate in February. The forecast was for the pace of building to slow to a 1.5 million rate in March.

However, most of the country experienced a decrease from the February's pace of housing starts. In the South there was a 3 percent decline in home building and in the Northeast and West building fell nearly 8 percent.  In the Midwest, due to the bad weather conditions in February and then good conditions in March, house building jumped 44 percent as builders tried to catch up with delayed projects.

Building permits, often seen as a measure of builders' confidence in the market, fell to an annual rate of 1.54 million in March from 1.53 million in February.  The consensus forecast had been for permits to slow to a 1.52 million rate.

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