New housing construction rose sharply in January, but it was led by building starts on mutlifamily units, according to figures released by the Commerce Department Wednesday in Washington.
One measure of future construction was down across the board.
Privately owned housing starts rose 14.6 percent in January, the biggest monthly gain in almost two years. Single-family housing starts were down 1 percent from the previous month, while apartment and condo starts rose.
Compared to a year ago, housing starts in January were down 2.6 percent.
Building permits fell 10.4 percent last month and remain 10.7 percent below year-ago levels.
Read more:
Apartments, condos lead building rebound | Washington Business Journal 
