Latest Housing And Construction Industry Statistics

 

 

According to the Commerce Department’s announcement on 1/20/2010,  557,000 new home construction projects broke ground last month, down 4.0 percent from November’s upwardly revised data. Meanwhile, almost 11.0 percent more building permits were filed for last month, offering some rather obvious conflicting views with respect to current trends.

 The housing market, like any other market whether it be the bond, stock, commodity, labor,…etc, has been greatly impacted by the general lack of leverage available to facilitate the economy’s needs in a efficient manner. Hopefully, as the economy releverages itself through a prolonged period of lower long-term interest rates, the statistics on housing starts and building permits will gradually improve.  In our opinion, it will take a significant amount of time before the appropriate amount of leverage is established. Don’t give up hope, we will see the need to use our tools again in a big way!

Construction Industry To Rebound In 2010

 

 

The nation’s construction industry should see modest gains next year, according to the WSJ. This could be due to a rise in single family houses, apartment buildings, and highways and bridges. The increase in these areas will offset drops in commercial and manufacturing property. New development in commercial construction will be dragged down by high unemployment and tight credit markets. 2009 was tough for construction, with the value of starts expected to plunge 25% to $419 Billion.

Next year, starts are expected to climb 115 to $466.s billion, according to McGraw-Hill. Construction starts indicate future construction spending and often correlate strongly with actual spending.

Single family housing should come in at $162.s billion, a 30% boost to 560,000 units, provided that mortgage rates remain low, the $8000.00 tax credit for first time buyers is extended and programs to ease the foreclosure crisis help homeowners, the survey states.