June Housing Starts Jump Solid 8 Percent

Nationwide housing starts and permits posted substantial gains in June as home builders responded to improved market conditions and the impending expiration of the first-time buyer tax credit
July 30, 2009

Nationwide housing starts and permits posted substantial gains in June as home builders responded to improved market conditions and the impending expiration of the first-time buyer tax credit, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department. The department reported a 3.6 percent gain in overall housing starts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 582,000 units and an 8.7 percent gain in permit issuance to 563,000 units.

“The upcoming expiration of the first-time home buyer tax credit on December 1 is encouraging some builders to get homes started now so that they can be completed in time for clients to take advantage of this attractive buying incentive,” said Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla., and chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C. “However, there is still much concern about the difficulty of financing new-home production and continuing weakness in the job market.”