Housing Starts Surge 15% |
| Wall Street Journal - Oct 17, 2012 |
Residential construction rose to its highest level in four years, another sign that the housing market has found its footing and is beginning to show long-term strength.
The pop in home-building also suggests a divide between consumers and industry in the economic recovery: While businesses continue to hold back on big investments because of uncertainty surrounding the coming elections and changes to the tax code, consumer attitudes are improving, driving up spending on goods such as new homes.
Housing starts increased 15% last month from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Compared with a year earlier, new construction was up 34.8%.
The results were especially positive for builders of single-family homes, which made up 69% of housing starts last month. Single-family construction rose 11% in September to a rate of 603,000 units, a 43% improvement from a year earlier. The more volatile multifamily sector, which includes construction of buildings with two or more housing units, rose 25.1% in September from the previous month.
Read Full Article from Wall Street Journal
- Posted: 2012-10-17 12:56:37
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