The U.S. Commerce Dept. reported Tuesday that privately-owned housing starts in February rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000, up 22% from a revised January total of 477,000 defying economists’ forecasts for yet another drop in activity. It was the first time housing starts had increased since June, when they rose 11%. New construction of single-family homes in February increased just 1.1% from 353,000 in January to an annual rate of 357,000. On a national scale housing starts in the West were down nearly 25% from the January figure. New-home construction surged in the Northeast and increased in the Midwest and the South.