ECONOMIC UPDATES

The combined construction of new single-family homes and apartments in March rose 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 units. Single-family starts increased 7.7%. Multifamily starts rose 5.8%. Applications for new building permits, seen as an indicator of future activity, rose 11.2% to an annual rate of 594,000 units.

Existing home sales rose 3.7% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million units from a revised 4.92 million units in February. The inventory of unsold homes on the market increased 1.5% to 3.549 million, an 8.4-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 8.5-month supply in February.
 

Retail sales rose 0.3% for the week ending April 16, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales increase 3%.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index fell one point in April to 16. An index reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment about the housing market.

The index of leading economic indicators — designed to forecast economic activity in the next three to six months — rose 0.4% in March, following a revised 1% increase in February.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 13,000 to 403,000 for the week ending April 16. Continuing claims for the week ending April 9 fell by 7,000 to 3.69 million.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on new home sales on April 25, the housing price index on April 26 and pending home sales on April 28.