KTAR
U.S home construction surged in April to its highest pace in five months. Almost all that increase came from the volatile apartment sector, a sign that Americans are still struggling to buy single-family homes.
The Commerce Department said Friday that builders started work on 1.07 million homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in April, up 13.2 percent from March. The gains were driven by a 42.9 percent jump in the construction of apartments and condominiums. The rate of building single-family homes rose just 0.8 percent.
The gains for apartment building point to an economy where more Americans rent instead of purchasing a home. Following the housing bust and Great Recession, Americans have been coping with flat wages and job insecurity, making it difficult to save for a down payment. The home ownership rate was 64.8 percent at the start of the year, down from a peak of 69.2 percent during 2004. Continued
Phoenix-area housing market a year ago was facing a chronic shortage of homes for today, however, say real estate experts, things have turned around.
Jim Belfiore, President of Belfiore Real Estate Consulting said, “Indeed, the housing market would now best be characterized as a ‘buyers market’. Both resale and new home supply have grown at paces not matched by demand. Buyer interest remains strong, but it isn’t being converted to home sales yet.”
Jordan Rose, President and Founder of Rose Law Group said, “We also have a major lending standard issue that needs to be resolved so that buyers in that 200K-ish price range can actually get loans.”
If you’d like to discuss real estate matters, contact Rose Law Group President/Founder Jordan Rose, jrose@roselawgroup.com
