New home construction rose to 717,000 homes in April, a 2.6 percent increase from March, the U.S. Commerce Department announced today. Construction of both single-family homes and apartments increased, reports the Belleville News-Democrat (via AP).

In other news:

Foreclosed owners back on the path to homeownership
An article in today’s Chicago Tribune reports on a small but growing number of people who lost their homes to foreclosure or sold through short sale and are already returning to homeownership.