Construction of new homes increased by the biggest percentage in more than two years in April, a rare spot of good news amid the worst downturn in housing in more than two decades. Analysts, however, played down the increase, noting that all the strength came from the volatile apartment sector. They said the painful housing slump is far from over as a record flood of foreclosures continues to add to the sizable stockpile of unsold homes. A second report Friday showed that consumer confidence, as measured by a University of Michigan/Reuters survey, fell to a 28-year low of 59.5 in a preliminary reading for May, down from 62.6 in April. The drop was blamed in part on rising concerns about higher gas and food prices. The Commerce Department reported Friday that housing construction rose by 8.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million units. While apartment construction rose by 36 percent, building in the much larger single-family sector of the market fell by 1.7 percent, the 12th consecutive monthly decline, pushing single-family activity down to a 16-year low. "It is definitely too early to uncork the champagne on the long and winding road to more healthy housing-market conditions," said Brian Bethune, an economist at Global Insight. He said he did not expect housing activity to stabilize until the end of this year. Len Blum, managing director of investment bank Westwood Capital, said the slump in housin ...
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