More people are starting to build new homes again, or at least, that’s what the numbers from the unexpected rise in housing starts in June appear to show. The number of housing starts rose 3.6% (or about 20,000 seasonally adjusted starts) to 582,000 units. Even larger leaps were seen in the number of housing starts of single family homes (14.4%) and the number of permits to break ground (8.7%). Analysts had expected these values to remain unchanged from previous months.
While the number of housing starts and permits to break ground are still down around 50% from a year ago, the increase is still a sign of progress. It seems that few aspects of the real estate industry have defied analyst’s expectations recently, and the large unexpected jumps are a definite exception. Although one wonders slightly whether developers will be able to fill all their new properties, it is good to see people building homes again. Perhaps once the new properties are completed, the worst of the recession will be over.