The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says U.S. Census figures and HUD statistics report April registered a 2.3 percent gain in housing starts, marking a 717,000 seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Single-family home construction was up 2.3 percent while multi-family gained 3.2 percentage. MHProNews.com has learned from various sources while sales of single-family homes have flip-flopped, the demand for rentals has risen, resulting in increased multi-family construction and a rise in rental costs. Regionally, the Midwest gained 6.7 percent, and the South was up 11.6 percent. The Northeast fell 20.7 percent, and the West declined 8.1 percent. While noting ongoing tight credit, NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe says, “While still less than half the pace of what we would expect in a fully healthy market, the rate of housing production in April was very solid for this point of the recovery.”
