
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 19, 1991                   TAG: 9103190440
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

HOUSING STARTS UP IN FEBRUARY

Housing starts rebounded 16.4 percent in February, the first sign of life in that industry in three months and only the second advance in a year, the government said today.

The Commerce Department reported new construction of single- and multi-family houses totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 989,000.

Starts had fallen 12.5 percent to an 850,000 annual rate in January, the lowest level since construction began on 843,000 units in January 1982 in the midst of the last recession.

There's also evidence that housing activity continued to improve in March.

For instance, the Federal Reserve reported a survey earlier this month showed that, while housing and commercial construction remained slow, eight of its 12 districts reported "an increase in buyer interest and, in some areas, purchases."

It said some builders said they were cautiously optimistic about a recovery for the depressed housing industry this year because of the decline in mortgage rates. Fixed-rate mortgages averaged 9.50 percent last week, according to a survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

And the Labor Department said earlier the construction industry added 27,000 new jobs in February, the first increase in months. The industry lost 150,000 jobs in January and about 425,000 since last May.

The Commerce Department report today also offered a glimmer of hope. It said applications for building permits, often a barometer of future activity, rose 8.5 percent to 865,000 - the steepest gain since a 15 percent advance in December 1986.

- Associated Press

by CNB