The latest batch of housing numbers offer a mixed view at best for this key sector. The March data for new housing starts and residential building permits are above their recent lows, but the gains are sluggish compared to the rates of increase from 2011 through early 2013. And that’s the good news vs. home sales, which have been sliding recently. Purchases of existing houses last month slumped to the lowest level in nearly two years while sales of new homes in March dropped to a nine-month low.
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