It is a piece of very good and important news for the U.S. economy – home builders began construction on single family homes at the fastest pace since the recession began in late two thousand and seven. The U.S. economy has continued to struggle to expand robustly in recent months. Increased consumer spending has sustained much of the growth that has occurred. There has been a dearth of other significant economic drivers to emerge.
Home construction’s momentum is therefore of disproportionate importance. Total housing starts have expanded by eleven point three percent year-to-date through July, with both apartment construction and single family construction manifesting momentum. Housing starts expanded in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of one point two million homes.
Some analysts indicate that starts in the range of one point five million on an annualized basis would be an indication of a truly robust economy. Unfortunately, the newfound momentum might not last. Approved building permits, a leading indicator of construction, slipped in July after hitting an eight year high in June.
