Housing starts up

Housing starts up

From what I see According to the Commerce Department, housing starts jumped 10.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000 in August from a revised 541,000 in July.  Economists were expecting a rate of 550,000 housing starts, according to a consensus estimate from Briefing.com.  New construction was up 2.2% from a year ago.  Permits for future construction rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,000 last month, up 1.8% from July and the highest level in two months. Economists were expecting 560,000 permits in August.  "This is a step in the right direction, but you have to remember that we're still hovering around all-time lows," said Kevin Smith, a senior vice president at Chapdelaine Credit Partners. "It's clear that we're far from being out of the woods." 

It's too early to look at this as a positive trend for the housing market until more jobs are created, he said.  "People who don't have jobs aren't buying homes.  You have to have job creation to see housing improve, and people need to actually have the confidence that they are going to keep that job for a year or two."  New construction of single-family homes, the key sector of the housing market, rose 4.3% over the month to an annual rate of 438,000.  The annual rate for new construction of multi-family homes - buildings with 5 or more units - was 147,000.  Permits for future construction rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,000 last month, up 1.8% from July and the highest level in two months. Economists were expecting 560,000 permits in August.  Despite the monthly gain, permits were down 6.7% from the same time last year.