by jberman
Single-family Housing Starts rose for the 4th straight month in July, another sign that the battered housing market may be making its comeback.
“Housing starts” are new homes on which construction has recently started.
Not surprising, in a related story, homebuilder confidence moved to a 12-month high.
Ironically, an increase in newly-built homes could actually slow a nationwide housing rebound because values are driven by supply and demand. More in-the-pipeline supply means that buyer demand has to stay strong or else prices will eventually fall.
So far this year, though, demand has kept pace.
Over the past 6 months, the combination of low mortgage rates, aggressive home valuations, and federal and state tax credits has kept buyer activity up and home values on the rise.