US home building up in March after frigid winter By  
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  Published:  14:19 BST, 16 April 2014   |  Updated:  14:19 BST, 16 April 2014   
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[[https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&q=WASHINGTON&gs_l=news WASHINGTON]] (AP) — U.S home construction rose moderately in March as builders resumed work at the end of a frigid winter.
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But applications for building permits slid, clouding the outlook for future construction.
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Builders started work on 946,000 homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in March, up 2.8 percent from 920,000 in February, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
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Construction of single-family homes rose 6 percent, more than offsetting a 3.1 percent drop in the construction of apartments, condominiums and town houses.
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As the weather moderated, construction rose 30.7 percent in the Northeast and jumped 65.5 percent in the Midwest.
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But it fell 9.1 percent in the South and 4.5 percent in the West.
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	  image class="left" url=""  This Friday, March 21, 2014 photo shows roofers installing a roof on a new construction home in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
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The Commerce Department reports on U.S. home construction in March later Wednesday April 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
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Applications for permits,  [[https://www.garnelenshop-bayern.de/Garnelenhaus Artemia]] a gauge of future activity, fell 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 990,000.
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"The outcome is less dynamic than anticipated," Annalisa Piazza, an economist at Newedge Strategy, said in a research report.
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Economists had expected housing starts to hit 970,000 last month.
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Piazza noted that housing construction in March was 5.9 percent less than a year earlier.
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"It echoes several of the other reports we've seen of late which do show a spring snapback, but one not nearly as strong as once hoped," said Dan Greenhaus, chief [[https://www.msnbc.com/search/?q=strategist strategist]] at BTIG.
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Many analysts have been expecting an improving economy to lift the housing market, which has been recovering the past two years.
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But housing has struggled to maintain momentum. Rising prices and higher mortgage rates have deterred some home buyers. Others have had trouble qualifying for mortgages.
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Builders complain of a shortage of workers and lots to build on.
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U.S.
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homebuilders' confidence in the housing market rose modestly in April but remained at low levels for the third straight month, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index, which came out Tuesday.
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The index, which measures confidence in the single-family home market, edged up to 47 in April from 46 in March., Readings below 50 mean builders view sales conditions as poor.
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The index had been above 50 from June through January.
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Still, the March gain in single-family home construction is encouraging. Every single-family home built creates three jobs and generates $90,000 in tax revenue, according to the homebuilders' group.
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