Work was begun on 0.8 percent more single-family homes in January than had been started the month before, .
And the number of single-family starts was up 20 percent from January 2012.
A 26.1 percent drop in starts, from December to January, on construction of apartment buildings and other multi-family homes dampened the news somewhat.
But looking ahead, there was a 1.9 percent increase in January from December in the number of permits issued for construction of single-family homes. The number of such permits was up 29.2 percent from January 2012.
The increase in permits, , reinforces expectations that "the housing market will support economic growth this year."
Also this morning, that wholesale prices rose 0.2 percent in January from February.
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