New federal residential construction stats
![Housing starts on upswing](https://img.equipmentworld.com/files/base/randallreilly/all/image/2012/07/eqw.housing.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=70&w=400)
show building permits were 3.7 percent below the revised May rate, but 19.3 percent above the June 2011 estimate.
Housing starts increased by 6.9 percent above may, and were a whopping 23.6 percent above the June 2011 rate.