Housing starts rose 14.6 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 596,000 from December when housing starts were an estimated 520,000, but they were 2.6 percent below the January 2010 rate of 612,000, according to the latest figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department. However, permits for new construction fell 10.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 562,000 from the December rate of 627,000 and they were 10.7 percent below the January 2010 estimate of 629,000. As the market for new homes continues to stall, builder confidence remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive month, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Two of the three of the index's components edged slightly higher in February. The component gauging current sales conditions improved by two points and the component gauging sales expectation over the next six months rose a single point.
Great info from my CRS MemberConnect on-line newsletter
Comments(1)