START UPs: A member of a construction crew works on the exterior of a new home on Sept. 21, in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. Housing starts increased more than expected in August to their highest level in four months, and permits for future home construction rose, the government reported. (John Moore/Getty Images)
START UPs: A member of a construction crew works on the exterior of a new home on Sept. 21, in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. Housing starts increased more than expected in August to their highest level in four months, and permits for future home construction rose, the government reported. (John Moore/Getty Images)Construction of new homes as well as applications for new building permits jumped in August, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce this week. Construction of new buildings increased 10.5 percent in August from July, to a seasonally adjusted annual new buildings amounting to 598,000. The figure consists mostly of new apartment and condominium buildings, not single-family homes, however. Building permit applications increased by 2 percent last month, signaling that builders are planning more projects going forward. "As we've gone into September, we're seeing a little bit of pickup in our traffic, but that shouldn't be cause to have a sigh of relief at this point,” said Stuart Miller of Lennar Corp. in a conference call with analysts this week. Lennar is one of the country’s leading home builders.
