Builders broke ground on more new homes in April as permits for future construction came in a little below estimates, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development said on Thursday.

Starts were at an annual rate of 1.36 million, 5.7% higher than the downwardly revised March number of 1.29 million. Permits, meanwhile, came in at 1.44 million, down from the upwardly revised 1.485 million in March. Both were below the comparable month in 2023.