The lack of available homes for sale has been getting a lot of attention lately. That’s no surprise. When there aren’t enough homes to accommodate interested buyers, prices rise and competition heats up. So, naturally, housing market observers have been watching to see if home builders can build new homes quickly enough to even out the market’s imbalance. That’s why August’s New Residential Construction report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is encouraging. The report found that the number of new, single-family homes that began construction during the month was 4.1 percent higher than the previous month. Permits to build were also up, rising 6 percent. Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, says low mortgage rates are helping to fuel the improvement. “Low interest rates and solid demand are spurring single-family construction growth, which makes up the bulk of the housing market,” Dietz said. “Single-family permits continue to rise as well, and are now up almost 7 percent on a year-to-date basis.” (source)
