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A rebound in housing, along with a limited supply of homes for sale, has lifted the construction industry. Construction cooled off in April, as builders broke ground on fewer homes after topping the 1 million mark in March for the first time since 2008. But most of the decline was in apartment construction, which tends to vary sharply from month to month. The most encouraging sign for the industry last month was that applications for new construction reached a five-year peak. That suggests the housing revival will be sustained. Builders are benefiting from a sustained rebound in housing that began a year ago. Steady job growth, rock-bottom mortgage rates and rising home values have boosted demand. The overall economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the January-March quarter, up from a rate of just 0.4 percent in the October-December quarter. The fastest expansion in consumer spending in more than two years drove economic growth in the first quarter. Many economists expect growth is slowing slightly in the current April-June period to around 2 percent. Still, cheaper gas prices helped consumers boost spending at retail businesses last month. Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70 percent of economic activity.
[Associated
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