News In Brief

Start-ups on homes in US turned up sharply in June

Housing starts climbed 5.3 percent in June, reversing a sharp decline the previous month, the government said Wednesday. The increase was spurred by the biggest rise in multifamily units since September 1973.

Permits for new construction edged up 1.8 percent last month; they had tumbled 10 percent in May. June's housing starts were 9 percent above the level of a year ago, and permit applications were 0.7 percent higher. The rise occurred despite the fact that mortgage interest rates shot up in June to their highest levels in about two years, putting home loans out of the reach of many home buyers.