BCREA ECONOMICS NOW: US Housing Starts - October 17, 2012
BCREA ECONOMICS NOW
US Housing Starts - October 17, 2012
The slow and steady recovery in the US housing
market continued in September. Total US housing starts surged to a four year
high of 872,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Building
permit data, a proxy for future housing starts, rose to 894,000 (SAAR),
suggesting that strong home-building momentum will be sustained. While
September starts are clearly a positive development for the US economy, it is
worth remembering that new home construction in the US is still only about half
of what it was before the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Prior to the US housing crisis, BC exported an average of $7 billion a year in
wood products to the United States. As of last year, that number had fallen
over 60 per cent to just $2.5 billion. Over the next two years, as the US
housing market starts returning to normal, the BC economy should benefit
through increased export sales and employment in forestry, and manufacturing.
For more information, please contact:
Cameron Muir |
Brendon Ogmundson |
Chief Economist |
Economist |
Direct: 604.742.2780 |
Direct: 604.742.2796 |
Mobile: 778.229.1884 |
Mobile: 604.505.6793 |
Email: cmuir@bcrea.bc.ca |
Email: bogmundson@bcrea.bc.ca |
BCREA represents 11 member real estate boards and their approximately 18,000 REALTORS® on all provincial issues, providing an extensive communications network, standard forms, economic research and analysis, government relations, applied practice courses and continuing professional education (cpe).
Real estate boards, real estate associations and REALTORS® may reprint this content, provided that credit is given to BCREA by including the following statement: “Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.” BCREA makes no guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of this information.
Your Vancouver Real Estate Specialist.
DavidValente.com
604-377-6015