iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — U.S. housing starts fell 18.7 percent in November, according to the latest figures from the Commerce Department. But, as the National Association of Home Builders points out, the housing market is still on solid ground.
“We did see an almost 20 percent drop in housing starts but that was concentrated in the multi-family sector,” explains Robert Dietz with the NAHB. “Single-family starts were down a little bit from the October rate, but the October rate was really, really strong.”
In fact, Dietz says there’s been continued positive growth trends for single-family starts.
“Year-to-date, single-family starts are up almost 10 percent and the multi-family sector is beginning to level off as that market finds a balance between supply and demand,” he says.
The Commerce Department’s report, out Friday, also shows U.S. homebuilders’ confidence rising to its highest level in 11 years.
“Builder confidence hit an almost decade-long high at a level of 70,” Dietz says, adding that “the limiting factors in the industry remain builders getting enough workers and enough building logs to actually construct homes to meet that rising demand.”
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
