June housing starts soar 3.7 percent

Homebuilders in June broke ground on new homes at the fastest pace since January, the Commerce Department announced. Starts went up 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.803 million unit annual rate. That followed a revised 1.738 million rate in May and was the fastest pace since January, when it hit a 1.828 million rate.

Building permits, considered a leading indicator of future home construction, also rose, increasing 0.8 percent to a 1.817 million annual pace. Permits for single-family homes, at a 1.421 million clip, were at their highest level since Commerce began tracking them in 1960.