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Housing starts surge in February, led by apartment construction
comments (0) March 17th, 2009 in Blogs
Richard Defendorf, contributor
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Even though it is still considerably below what it was a year earlier, housing construction took a promising 22.2% jump in February, nudging total activity to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.
All regions except the West saw a jump in starts, with the increase led by apartment construction, an often-volatile sector that climbed 82 percent.
Housing starts remain 47.3% below where they were a year ago, and building permits rose less than starts, suggesting slower months ahead, but the fact that February showed signs of life gives hope to those looking for a market bottom as builders try to weather price pressures from foreclosures and the government tries to free up credit.
"Any letup would be encouraging," Michelle Meyer, an economist with Barclays Capital in New York, told Bloomberg News before the report was released. "We may begin to see housing starts reach a bottom in the second half, contingent on a recovery in financial markets and in the economy. I don't think the end is too far out."
With inflation of little concern at the moment -- the 0.1% increase in wholesale inflation was much lower than the 0.8% rise in January and smaller than the 0.4% increase economists had expected, the Associated Press noted -- the Federal Reserve this week will consider whether to expand existing asset-purchase and lending programs or initiate new measures, such as buying Treasury bonds.
posted in: Blogs, business
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