The housing recovery isn't yet a success, but last week gave us a few good reasons to keep plugging along. First came March Housing Starts, bursting UP 7.2% to a 549,000 unit annual rate. February starts were also revised UP 6.9%. Then we found out new Building Permits surged 11.2% in March to a 594,000 annual rate and were revised UP 3.3% for February. Starts and permits are still down over 13% from a year ago, as residential construction has dropped to only 2.3% of GDP, its lowest level on record. But economists say it won't go much lower, and that's what these latest numbers are signaling.
We also had Existing Home Sales UP 3.7% in March and off only 6.3% compared to a year ago. The median existing home price rose for the month and is down just over 5% for the year, while average prices are off just over 3% from 12 months ago. Looks like existing home prices are stabilizing. Finally, the supply of existing homes dropped to 8.4 months in February. Some experts see existing home sales getting back to an annual level around 5.5 million units, but caution that the recovery will be volatile.
From my weekly enewsletter for real estate pros, INSIDE LENDING, for the week of April 25, 2011
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