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Both uplifting and negative economic data about the housing sector were released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department, according to published reports.

March saw construction begin on fewer U.S. homes than forecast, Bloomberg reports . Housing starts fell 5.8 percent to an annual rate of 654,000. But builders in the nation last month solicited the most permits to construct single-family homes and apartments since September 2008, according to Reuters.

Both metrics shed light on the state of the economy with economics director Jonathan Basile with Credit Suisse telling Reuters the increased amount of permits represents a "good sign for broader economic activity."

By contrast, senior U.S. economist Jacob Oubina with RBC Capital Markets in New York told Bloomberg that the metric indicating builders began working on fewer homes shows there's room for improvement and the economic recovery will take more time to demonstrate progress.

"Housing continues to bump along the bottom," Oubina said. "The best we can hope from housing over the next couple years is that it won't subtract from growth. The numbers in the past few months were decidedly impacted by a much milder winter, so a significant portion of construction was pulled forward."

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