NEW YORK—Housing starts, or groundbreaking for new home construction, jumped last month to a six-month high, according to information released by the U.S. government this week.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said that June experienced a 14.6 percent increase in new home construction, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000 units. Most of the new construction is for rental real estate.

Groundbreaking for single-family homes rose 9.4 percent, but construction of large apartment units surged by 31.8 percent, reflecting a growing trend of Americans shunning home ownership.

Applications for building permits, an indication of future new construction, increased by 2.5 percent compared to the previous month.

Retail Vacancies High

A recent report by Reis Inc., a commercial real estate research company, showed that vacancy rates at U.S. retail malls increased from 9.1 percent to 9.3 percent during the second quarter, showing continued weakness in the commercial real estate space.

“The average vacancy rate for neighborhood and community center retail space remained flat or increased in 59 of the primary 80 metropolitan areas, indicating further weakening from the previous quarter,” according to ReisReports, the company’s commentary on commercial real estate.

Adding to the shopping mall woes is this week’s news that national bookseller Borders Inc. will liquidate and close its 399 locations. No potential buyer had emerged from its bankruptcy auction, so the company announced that it would close, as well as lay off more than 10,000 employees of the company.

Foreclosures Drop in California

California, one of the hardest hit states during the subprime mortgage crisis, saw its foreclosure rate tumble by 19 percent during the second quarter, to the lowest foreclosure default rate in more than four years.

According to data from MDA DataQuick, a San Diego-based market research firm, 56,633 default notices were served in the second quarter in California, which is more than 19 percent lower than the same quarter last year, and 17 percent lower than the first quarter.

What does it mean for the regional and national economy? “It now appears likely that, barring some new economic shock, the worst of the price declines are behind us,” said DataQuick President John Walsh in a statement.

Since peaking last year, foreclosure numbers have declined nationally due to a combination of more homeowners challenging foreclosures in court as well as more effort by lenders to restructure loans to avoid foreclosure altogether.

Last year’s “robo-signing” scandal has also put a dent in lenders’ willingness of processing quick foreclosures.

New Home Constructions Up Almost 15 Percent