April housing starts near three-year high

Posted by IronPlanet on May 17, 2012 8:59:00 PM

After a weak March for home construction, many analysts said the strong numbers in January and February may have been primarily due to the warm weather. However, with the release of data for April, it appears March may have been the anomaly.

Data released by the Commerce Department pointed to a seasonally-adjusted annual pace of 717,000 new homes in the month of April, a rise of 2.6 percent compared to the previous month. That figure is very close to January's totals, which were in turn the highest point for home construction in the U.S. in more than three years, according to The Associated Press.

Overall, the past six months have shown a nice uptick for the construction industry, with March 2012 being the key exception. These months are averaging approximately 700,000 housing starts. Meanwhile, the previous six months - May-October 2011 - averaged closer to 600,000 housing starts.

"It's all very encouraging," Paul Ashworth, chief United States economist at Capital Economics, told the news source. "Things look good at the moment. We expect starts to strengthen further this year."

While the pace of approximately 700,000 starts is keeping construction crews busy, the numbers still aren't up to their pre-recession levels. Most economists consider an annual rate of 1.5 million new homes to be "healthy." That being said, things are still much better than they were in the worst parts of the economic recession. Housing starts are now approximately 40 percent higher than they were at the lowest points of the downturn.

Construction crews getting back to work on new homes or other projects need to have the right equipment for the job. The online auction site IronPlanet offers a wide selection of excavators, aerial work platforms and much more. What's more, the site's IronClad Assurance policy allows buyers to view full inspection reports before they place a bid, ensuring they know exactly what they're getting.

Topics: Construction, Industry Headlines