The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released the number of housing starts most recently for April. Privately owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,630,000, 6.8 percent below the March estimate of 1,748,000. However, the figure is a 2.7 percent increase over the April 2002 rate of 1,587,000. Single-family housing starts came in at 1,356,000, a 3.0 percent decrease compared to 1,398,000 in March. For buildings with five units or more, the estimate comes in at 244,000. Housing starts declined in all four regions of the country compared to March figures.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov/newresconst)