Online News-Housing Starts and Building Permits Rebound in April 2005
Housing starts and building permits rebounded in April 2005, the Census Bureau reported. Housing starts increased 11% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate overall, 6% for single-unit starts, and 35% for multi-unit starts. Both types of starts were up 5% in the first four months of 2005 compared to the same months of 2004. Permits, a reliable indicator of near-term construction, rose 5% for both single- and multi-unit housing. Compared to January-April 2004, single-unit permits in the first four months of 2005 were level and multi-unit permits were up 10%.
"The hotel industry will start construction on more rooms this year than in any year since 2000," the Wall Street Journal reported on May 17, citing a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers that projected a 21.5% rise in room starts to 98,000 rooms. "Developers are disproportionately breaking ground on (high-end hotels, which make up) 22.5% of current room supply but 30.5% of the rooms starting construction this year."