Exceed 1 million new homes in the U.S. in March

The growth rate of housing construction grew by 7 % compared to February, to 1.04 million, a figure adjusted for seasonal factors , reported Tuesday the Commerce Department .

Building departments, which tend to fluctuate from month to month, led the growth jump almost 31 % to an annual rate of 417,000 , the fastest pace since January 2006.

However , construction of single-family homes , which make up almost two-thirds of the market, fell 4.8 % to an annual rate of 619,000 . It was down from the pace of February, when it registered 650,000 , the most since May 2008. The government said the February rate was 5.2% higher than previously estimated .

Applications for building permits, an estimate of future construction, fell 3.9 % to an annual pace of 902,000 . He lowered with respect to 939,000 requests for February, which were also the largest in five years.

Scott Laurie , President of Olson Homes , said the decline last month, construction of houses is not a reflection of what happens in the market.

The shortage of land for new housing construction has led to several contractors to ask local governments to adopt new land for urban development , he said. The process can take 12 to 18 months. A survey released Monday indicated contractors similar concerns.

" It will continue rising to new construction as the year and there is a new construction projects ," Laurie said.

It is expected that the increase in housing construction will contribute to economic growth in 2013 for the second consecutive year, a reversal of the trend during the period from 2006 to 2011 , when he led to economic stagnation .

Deutsche Bank forecast that housing construction hit an annual rate of 1.2 million by year-end . Brett Ryan , an economist at Deutsche Bank, said the rate could rise to 0.5% growth in 2013. This would be the greatest contribution of the housing sector since 2004.