Washington  - The construction of new homes in the United States unexpectedly surged in February, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, signalling that the housing downturn at the heart of the US economic crisis may finally have reached bottom.

Privately-owned housing starts in February were 583,000 at an annual rate, up 22 per cent from January but still down 47.3 per cent from the same month in 2008. Economists had expected a further monthly decline to 450,000 last month, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

The price of homes in the United States has fallen nearly 20 per cent on average over the past year, spurring a record number of foreclosures by homeowners. The housing crash has cost US banks and lenders hundreds of billions of dollars and threatened the entire global financial system with collapse. (dpa)