Housing starts ease to 1.17 million rate in April after strong first quarter

• May 16, 2017
• realestatelife
• Business & Markets, Real Estate Finance

The pace of home construction eased in April as builders took a breather after a strong start to the year. Housing starts ticked down 2.6% to a 1.17 million annual pace, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, and stood just 0.7% higher than in the same month last year. Permits fell 2.5% to a 1.23 million pace in April. That was 5.7% higher than a year ago.