Housing starts rose 5.8 percent in April to an annual rate of 672,000 units, the highest level since October 2008, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Single-family home starts rose 10.2 percent, while multifamily starts declined 18.6 percent, reversing the trend from previous months.

New building permits, a gauge of future activity, declined 11.5 percent to an annual rate of 606,000, the lowest level since October 2009, Commerce also reported.

Source: Reuters News, Lucia Mutikani (05/18/2010)