Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
Home / Business

Single

Diposkan oleh silent aja Post a Comment


By


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Construction of single-family homes slowed down overall residential building rates last month, according to government data released Tuesday.


Overall construction started on new U.S. homes declined 1.6% in November to an annual pace of 1.03 million from 1.05 million in October, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the housing starts rate to rise to 1.04 million in November from an originally reported 1.01 million in October.


Those rates compare with an average pace of 1.5 million over the 20 years leading up to the housing bubble's 2006 peak.


The November starts rate for single-family homes fell 5.4% from October's pace, which was the fastest since 2008. Meanwhile, the pace in buildings with at least five units rose 7.6%.


The pace of overall construction starts was down 7% from the year-earlier period. However, economists caution over reading too much into any single report - the confidence interval of plus or minus 8.1% for November's overall starts drop of 1.6% shows that the government isn't sure whether the pace of construction rose or fell last month.


While the fresh data show some weakness, home builders are feeling optimistic about the sales market for new single-family homes, with a gauge of their confidence this month sticking close to a nine-year high reached earlier three months ago. Builders expect a 'slow march back to normal,' with the housing market recovering at a steady and gradual pace, according to National Association of Home Builders.


Builders have had a rocky 2014, with setbacks from bad weather and tough lending standards.


But the future may be brighter for the new-home market as U.S. employment strengthens. Competition for jobs is dropping, and employers are picking up the pace of hiring. Also, prospective borrowers may find it easier to get a loan in 2015 as some lenders, encouraged by federal regulators, ease standards. In addition, mortgage rates are still low, enabling qualified borrowers to get relatively cheap loans.


However, Tuesday's report showed that the annual pace of permits for new construction, a sign of future demand, fell 5.2% in November to 1.04 million, compared with 1.09 million in October, which was the fastest rate since 2008.


The permits rate declined 1.2% for single-family homes and 11.1% for apartments.


Lokasi:

Post a Comment for "Single"