Permits, Starts, and Confidence in the Building Industry

Despite the frustration of finding lots on which to build and labor (employees and sub-contractors) to use to build new, single-family homes, the housing market is on an upward trend.  An increase in permits, starts, and confidence in the building industry by builders was reported by the National Association of Home Builders for the month of June, 2015.  New home permits rose in all 4 regions of the United States from the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West at 2.8%, 2.9%, 10.4% and 9.5% respectively.  The South gained a huge percentage jump in new home housing permits during June, and overall, single-family home permits rose .9% to 687,000 compared to previous months.

New home starts went up mostly for multi-family  building which went up by a huge 9.8% to over 1 million total units – 1.174 million to be exact.  Overall multifamily construction was up 29.4% for a total of 489,000 units.

“The multifamily gains this month are encouraging and show that the millennial generation continues to be drawn to the rental market,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, MO.

Builder confidence is also the highest it’s been since November, 2005.  While any number above 50 means that builders are thinking positively about sales conditions, sales expectations for the next 6 months, and buyer traffic; builder confidence rose in June to 60 averaged out over all three survey results.
“The fact that builder confidence has returned to levels not seen since 2005 shows that housing continues to improve at a steady pace,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods. “As we head into the second half of 2015, we should expect a continued recovery of the housing market.”
Buyers are actually seeing a little bit of a seller’s market because of the lack of inventory of new homes for sale.  A dearth of lots and a shortage of construction labor has contributed to a shrinking inventory of supply for homes to buy nationwide.  However, the strong numbers for new home permits in the Southern and Midwest regions signal that new home buyers will soon have homes from which to choose.  If you would like to build your home instead of buying an inventory home, Contact Ron Lee Homes at 985-626-7619 or e-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

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