WASHINGTON, DC — Indicating that the U.S. housing market will be a positive contributor to economic growth in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported that overall housing starts rose 2.8% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.77 million units, the largest increase since 1998.
The gain was due entirely to the single-family sector, where starts rose 7.4% to a rate of 1.46 million units — their fastest pace in more than 20 years — since December 1978.