BALDRIGE PREDICTS SOLID U.S. HOUSING GROWTH Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige predicted 1987 will be the fifth successive year for growth in housing starts after a 2.6 pct rise overall in February starts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.851 mln units. "This year should be the fifth solid year in a row for homebuilding activity -- with single-family units stronger than multi-family units," he said in a statement. Single-family starts rose last month from January levels by 5.6 pct to 1.317 mln units on a seasonally adjusted basis while multi-family unit starts fell 4.1 pct to 534,000 units, the department reported.