New home construction was flat in February, falling just 0.2 percent from the previous month according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Combined with upwardly revised January numbers, the results are a sign that the housing market may be regaining its footing after a particularly harsh winter slowed activity across much of the country. The coming months should provide an additional boost to new residential construction with inventory low in many parts of the country and buyer demand increasing as the weather warms. Also in the release, there was a 7.7 percent increase in permits to build privately-owned housing units. Despite the gains, however, the improvement was largely due to a spike in permits to build multi-family housing rather than single-family homes. Permits to build single-family homes fell slightly from the month before and are now at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 588,000, down from 599,000 in January. More here.