Wednesday, September 18, 2013

US Housing Starts

US housing starts rose close to 1 per cent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 891,000 units. Housing starts had reached a multi-year high of 1.02 million (SAAR) in March but have slowed to a less than 900,000 SAAR pace since then. Slower construction activity is likely a result of rising US mortgage rates and a slowdown in job-growth in recent months.

Although US new home construction has slowed of late, it is still well above the historical lows seen since the 2008 financial crisis. This has translated to a significant boost to the BC economy, as exports of BC wood products (representing about a fifth of all BC exports) have risen 30 per cent this year. 

copyright BCREA - reprinted with permission 

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