Commerce Department data shows that U.S. builders in March requested the most permits for single-family homes and apartments in three and a half years, offsetting a slow month for construction and suggesting that the housing market may be on the mend. Building permits jumped 4.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 747,000 last month — the highest level since September 2008. While apartment construction declined almost 20 percent, single-family home building was mostly unchanged. | Read More