New data on housing construction activity easily beat estimates, but few in the housing industry are ready to say the market is bottomed out and is headed back in the right direction.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that housing starts in February rose a seasonally adjusted 22.2 percent from January, to an annual rate of 583,000 units, while housing permits were up 3 percent from the previous month. Analysts had expected construction starts to drop to a rate of about 450,000 units.
Compared with January, housing starts in the Midwest were up 58.5 percent overall, and up 12.8 percent on single-family homes. Still, the numbers are off by 45.5 percent and 51.8 percent, respectively, from their levels in February 2008.
Activity in the Chicago area appears to be anemic at best. In suburban developments, sales are averaging 0.15 sales per week per project, according to Strategy Planning Associates.
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