By DEREK KRAVITZ AP Real Estate Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Builders broke ground on more new homes last month, giving the weak housing market a slight boost at the start of the spring buying season. Home construction rose 7.2 percent ...

Tagged with: foreclosures MFR Inc. new-home construction

By Alan Zibel AP Real Estate Writer Washington — Residential construction rose slightly last month on the strength of single-family homes, but the market was still too weak to propel growth in the battered industry. Construction of new homes and ...

Tagged with: Commerce Department housing starts MFR Inc. National Association of Home Builders

By Alan Zibel AP Real Estate Writer Washington — Builders are pessimistic about the housing market, but are seeing a little more foot traffic after the worst summer for home sales in a decade. The National Association of Home Builders ...

Tagged with: MFR Inc. National Association of Home Builders

By Alan Zibel AP Real Estate Writer Washington — The housing market is coming back from the winter doldrums. The number of buyers who agreed to buy previously occupied homes rose sharply in February, far exceeding expectations, according to a ...

Tagged with: MFR Inc. National Association of Realtors pending home sales tax credit Thomson Reuters

By Alan Zibel AP Real Estate Writer Washington — Sales of new homes fell unexpectedly to their lowest point on record in February, in part because stormy winter weather kept buyers away. The results pointed to the U.S. housing industry’s ...

Tagged with: Capital Economics Commerce Department MFR Inc. National Association of Home Builders National Association of Realtors new home sales Thomson Reuters

By Daniel Wagner AP Business Writer Washington — Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in February, beating expectations and marking the eighth straight monthly increase. The manufacturing sector — for months a rare bright spot in the economy — produced ...

Tagged with: Federal Reserve industrial production manufacturing MFR Inc. mining utilities

Christopher S. Rugaber AP Economics Writer Washington — The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since early July, evidence that job cuts are slowing. The Labor Department said Thursday that initial ...

Tagged with: Labor Department MFR Inc. unemployment benefits