Homebuilding shows signs of life
Full article written by Derek Kravitz of the Associated Press. Excepts highlighted below.
Nine total homes under construction (not all pictured) at Garden Glen in Sandy, Utah.
Home construction rose in every region of the country.
Builders nationwide broke ground on more single-family homes and apartments, helping the battered construction industry gain a little life after a dismal spring. In northern Utah, builders took out 402 permits for the construction of single-family homes. Building permits, although not an exact comparison with housing starts (which are not measured locally), are a gauge of future construction.
Construction of single-family homes — whether in Utah or nationwide — remains well below levels needed to help boost the sagging real estate sector, lay the foundation for a recovery or some hiring activity.
Single-family home construction rose 9.4 percent. It was the biggest increase since June 2009, when the recession officially ended. But analysts said the pace of 453,000 homes per year was still too depressed to signal a turnaround.
Home construction rose in every region of the country. The biggest gains in single-family home construction were in the Midwest and South, which saw extensive damage from tornadoes and flooding this spring. In the Northeast, the overall building pace spiked 35.1 percent, and in the Midwest 25.3 percent. In the South, it rose 10.6 percent, and in the West 5.4 percent.
Although new homes represent just 20 percent of the overall home market, they have an outsized impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
See full article featured in Salt Lake Tribune, Homebuilding shows some signs of life
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