| Credit & Debt | Personal Finance | Economic Crisis | Housing Market | Employment Trends | Expert Insight |
Subscribe  Print 
|
||
Single-family home construction falls in AugustAccording to the Commerce Department, housing starts for single-family homes fell 3 percent in August to 479,000 - down from July's revised figure of 494,000. But while the starts of construction for single-family homes fell last month, the total amount of single-family dwellings increased for the month, mostly on the back of construction of apartment buildings. In August, privately-owned housing starts rose 1.5 percent for the month, but 115,000 of the 598,000 starts were for dwellings of five or more units. But while total construction increased in August, the number is still 29.6 percent below the figures of last August. According to the Associated Press, Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at MFR, wrote in a note to clients that the slight increase in housing starts may be because of the "temporary boost to demand" from the $8,000 tax credit first-time homebuyers are eligible for until December of this year. Yet there may continue to be hope going forward as applications for building permits for privately-owned housing units - a number that is often a good indicator of future construction - increased 2.7 percent over July's number. The housing market may soon see an increase in sales as the window for receiving the $8,000 first-time homeowner tax credit from the government ends in a little more than two months. Although lawmakers are discussing expanding the tax credit, some experts believe that the December 1 deadline will cause an influx of demand, much like was seen toward the end of the Cash for Clunkers program that helped increase sales in the auto industry in recent months.
|
||
