Nationwide housing starts rose 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 926,000 units in March from an upwardly revised February reading, according to newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department, the National Association of Home Builders said in a release. Single-family housing production rose 4.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000 in March while multifamily starts dropped 2.5 percent to 308,000 units. Regionally, combined single- and multifamily starts increased in the Northeast, 115 percent, and Midwest, 31 percent. Housing production dropped 3.5 percent in the South and 19 percent in the West. Though housing starts increased, building permits dropped 5.7 percent. led by a 16 percent decline in permits issued for multifamily units.