Highest Level in 4 Years - Housing Starts Rise

People are beginning to take notice of the housing market again.  US housing starts - new homes in October were up 3.6% from September and 41.9% from October a year ago to the highest level since 2008 according the latest numbers released by the US Census Bureau. New home builders began construction on homes and apartment units during October at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 894,000, up from a revised rate of 863,000 in September and last year's rate of 630,000.

Single family housing starts dropped 0.2% from September to October, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 594,000, which represented a 35.3% increase from last October and a 68.3% rise from the March 2009 bottom of 353,000. New housing starts have been rising on an annual basis every single month since September 2011 and are up a full 87% from their April 2009 bottom of 478,000.  This is according to census bureau records dating back to 1959.  Builder confidence is up for the seventh month in a row in October and is reaching its highest level since May 2006 according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  are full of reporting that 2012 is the best year they have had in recent memory. 

NAHB attributes the growing confidence to a rise in buyer demand. "In view of the tightening supply and other improving conditions, many potential buyers who were on the fence are now motivated to move forward with a purchase in order to take advantage of today's favorable prices and interest rates," said NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg. Interestingly, according to many , more builders still think the market is poor than those who think it's improving, however, noted NAHB. Tight lending conditions and "difficult" appraisals are "limiting factors for the burgeoning housing recovery, along with shortages of buildable lots that have begun popping up in certain markets," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

The Census Bureau showed All US regions having double digit percentage gains and year over year jumps in housing starts, however, the Northeast and South saw a decline in housing starts for October.  On a yearly basis, the Northeast led the way with a 42.2% jump from October 2011 to an annual rate of 72,000, followed by the West with a 41.5% increase to a rate of 232,000, the South with a 22.6% increase to 431,000 and the Midwest with a 13.8%t increase to 159,000.  In October, the West led the way with a 17.2% increase in new housing starts from September. The Midwest followed with an 8.9% bump in housing starts for the month. The Northeast and South's annual rates dropped 6.5% and 2.5 percent.