U.S. Homebuilding Surges Near 11-Year High Despite Builder Complaints about Lumber Tariffs and Labor Shortages

Housing starts ran at a seasonally adjusted annual 1.35 million annual rate in May, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That exceeded the 1.3 million page expected by economists. This is the fastest annual pace for home builders breaking ground on new construction since 2007. The pace was 5 percent higher than April and 20.3 percent higher than a year ago.-- More...