Home construction up after 2 months of declines

[bushisanidiot]

and even more good news!

thank you, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Home-construction-up-after-2-apf-752795181.html?x=0

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Home construction nudged up in November after two months of declines.

Builders broke ground last month on a seasonally adjusted 555,000 units, a 3.9 percent rise from October, the Commerce Department reported Thursday."

[fasttense]

1. Didn't we have a similar slight increase in 2009?

We will continue to have peaks and valleys as the uber rich build 6th and 7th homes, but we are about 45% off of what a healthy housing market should be like.

"And they are down 76 percent from their peak in January 2006, and 45 percent below the 1 million annual rate that analysts say is consistent with a healthy housing market."

[frazzled]

2. How can builders be breaking ground in December?

In a large portion of the country, the ground is so damned frozen (not to mention the air) you can hardly walk outside.

I'm joking a bit, but not entirely: because it means that new construction is happening in those parts of the country (Nevada, southern California, Florida, etc.) where overbuilding (and buying) was worst, and where stocks of foreclosed properties are already glutting the markets and driving prices down.

Why does everybody want a new house?