Housing Construction Rises for 2nd Month
Thursday January 18, 8:40 am ET 
Housing Construction Rises for 2nd Straight Month in December


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Construction of new homes rose for a second consecutive month in December, raising hopes that the severe slump in housing may be leveling off.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that housing construction rose 4.5 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.642 million units.

Analysts cautioned that the December figure could be overstating the extent of the rebound since it was probably influenced by warmer-than-normal weather last month.