New residential construction in the U.S. surged in April to the highest level in more than seven years, indicating the industry regained its footing after the soft patch at the beginning of the year. Housing starts jumped 20.2 percent to a 1.14 million annualized rate, the most since November 2007, from a 944,000 pace in March, a Commerce Department report showed Tuesday in Washington. The median forecast of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 1.02 million. More permits, a proxy for future construction, were issued than at any time since June 2008. An improving labor market and mortgage costs close to multi-year ... (full story)