Per RIS Media, “Home-building activity blew by expectations in January, with housing starts up 9.7 percent to a rate of 1,326,000, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Single-family housing starts increased 3.7 percent to 846,000.” This is a super thing for my construction company, Ray Keeney & Assoc. here in Knoxville, TN. We have a great inventory of new construction homes on the market right now and they are not available for long.
“Terrific news on housing starts in January with a solid 10 percent gain,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), in a statement. “This rise in single-family housing construction will help tame home price growth, and the increase in multi-family units should continue to help slow rent growth.” This will not only help the economy, but also future short term rate hikes.