US home construction up 3.9% in August after July drop

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home construction rebounded 3.9% in August after a July decline with the strength coming in apartment construction. The August increase left home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.62 million units, 17.4% above the pace of a year ago, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The strength came in a 21.6% jump in construction of apartment units which offset a 2.8% fall in construction starts of single-family homes. Applications for building permits, seen ;as a good sign of future activity, rose 6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.73 million units.