Posted on 04/16/2013 7:12:34 AM PDT by whitedog57
U.S. builders broke ground on homes last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.04 million, the highest level since June 2008. The gain, driven by a surge in apartment construction, showed continued strength in the housing market at the start of the spring buying season.
According to the US Census Bureau, privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,036,000. This is 7.0 percent above the revised February estimate of 968,000 and is 46.7 percent above the March 2012 rate of 706,000.
Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 619,000; this is 4.8 percent below the revised February figure of 650,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 392,000.
5+ unit starts grew at 26.86%.
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 902,000. This is 3.9 percent below the revised February rate of 939,000, but is 17.3 percent above the March 2012 estimate of 769,000.
Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 595,000; this is 0.5 percent below the revised February figure of 598,000.
On the macro front, industrial production fell in March from a revised 1.1% to 0.4%. Capacity utilization fell from 79.6% in February (revised downward to 78.3%) to 78.5% in March. We just seem unable to clear the benchmark 80% capacity utilization, last seen in 2008.
So, housing starts, particularly multifamily starts, are leading the real estate recovery. Builders can take advantage of low interest rates courtesy of the global slowdown and The Fed.
Get all the peasants into high-rise containment facilities.
I ride my bike through Las Colinas (Irving, Tx) and the apartment complexes near downtown are expensive. One of them is so ugly it seriously looks like it could be government housing.
Socialist living at its best. We are on the way.
FWIW, the myth that a home is a great investment is just that, a myth. People who are buying homes now will regret it in the long run. The pricing is being propped up by artificially low interest rates. At some point the rates will go up and the value of the homes will stagnate.
And each of these buildings will have an official “informant family” who will be getting free rent to “keep an eye on things”. Just like Venezuela, East Germany, etc.
The value of most things will stagnate, not just houses. Getting 30 year fixed rate loans on multifamily rental properties may be one way to go, the key being getting fixed rates. You eventually get to pay the loan back with fixed dollars worth much less while getting to increase the rents. The problem with this plan is renters in general are Democrats. You'll have many deadbeat Obama voters to deal with which is no fun. Buy only brick or concrete construction that can be hosed off.
As I've been telling tenants "elections have consequences and socialism isn't free".
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