Home construction comeback could invigorate the still-weak US recovery

Jonathan ChancellorOctober 17, 2012

Home construction is contributing to the United State's still-weak recovery.

Last month builders started construction on single-family houses and apartments at the fastest rate in more than four years, according to the US Commerce Department with the pace of construction growing steadily over the last year.

Assisted by record-low mortgage rates, more stable home prices and a shortage of previously occupied homes for sale, the number of new home starts increased 15% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000 in September.

It was the fastest rate since July 2008 with single-family homes up 11% to 603,000.

Applications for forward building permits jumped about 12% to an annual rate of 894,000, another four year high.

Housing starts are now 82.5% above the annual rate of 478,000 in April 2009, the recession low, but still well short of the 1.5 million annual rate that economists consider healthy, according to US reports.

There were 2 million plus homes started in 2007 -- the peak of the boom.

The report came after the National Association of Home Builders said confidence among US builders had reached a six-year high.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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