Housing Starts Trend Up for the First Time in Over a Year
Home construction is on the rise for the first time since a sluggish pull from October 2016. This increase comes as contractors have been reporting higher priced materials and cost for employment.
"Residential starts rose 9.7% to a 1.33 million annualized rate (the estimate was 1.23 million) after a revised 1.21 million pace in the prior month," according to National Mortgage News.
"Multifamily home starts jumped 23.7% and single-family rose 3.7%. Permits, a proxy for future construction of all types of homes, climbed 7.4% to 1.4 million (the estimate was 1.3 million), the highest since June 2007."
The aforementioned dangers to home construction are still hampering homebuilders, according to the report, however, it is the confidence in homebuilders that is helping them to jump over those hurdles.
With more buyers purchasing homes with heavier price tags, it is expected that homebuilders will find a way to offset the higher costs in building.
"Building permits in the South and West advanced to the highest levels since 2007," according to NMN.
"The report shows a wide margin of error, with a 90% chance that the January figure was between a 7.1% drop and a 26.5% gain."
2018 continues to look even brighter than 2017 for the housing market and mortgage world, which also translates into a brighter future for builders and buyers.
To learn more about the increase in home starts over the past year, click on the image above.
