Builders Ramp Up Production This Summer

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, July 20, 2016 Builders are finally adding more homes into the pipeline. Housing starts across the country rose in June, ticking up 4.8 percent month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.19 million units, the Commerce Department reports. Permits, a sign of future construction, also rose, up 1.5 percent in June, and is at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million units. Buyers Want New Homes... New-Home Sales Surge to Post-Recession High Builders: Lot Shortages at Record Highs The West Drives New-Home Sales Jump “This month’s uptick in production is an indicator that the housing market continues to move forward,” says National Association of Home Builders Chairman Ed Brady. “At the same time, builders are adding inventory at a cautious pace as they face lot shortages and regulatory hurdles.” Single-family housing starts climbed 4.4 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 778,000 units. Multifamily production rose 5.4 percent to 411,000 units. “The June report is consistent with our forecast for a gradual but consistent recovery of the housing market,” says Robert Dietz, chief economist of the NAHB. “Single-family production should continue to strengthen throughout the year, buoyed by job growth, new household formations, and low mortgage interest rates.” By region, single- and multifamily housing starts posted the highest month-to-month gains in the Northeast, rising 46.3 percent in June, followed by a 17.4 percent increase in the West. On the other hand, the Midwest registered a 5.2 percent decrease in starts last month, while the South saw a 3.4 percent drop. Despite the overall drops, all regions of the country saw an increase in single-family production. Source: National Association of Home Builders