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Feb. Starts Confirm Housing's Momentum - Real Time Insight

By Zacks.com,  March 19, 2013, 12:45:20 PM EDT

There's been no let down in the housing recovery story so far in 2013. January data was strong and February has started out strong as well.

February housing starts jumped 27.7% to 917,000 from 718,000 a year ago. This was in line with forecasts.

Single family starts were the highest since June 2008 at 618,000.

Permits, which indicate future contracts, also rose 33.8% in February to 946,000 from 707,000 last year.

All of the data continues to validate the story that housing is slowly moving off the bottom. This confirms the increase in residential construction jobs that has also been seen in the monthly Labor Department reports. More housing starts means more jobs.

Existing home sales data for February is out Thursday morning.

Is It Truly a Turnaround?

Robert Shiller, Yale Professor and co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller index recently said on YahooFinance's Daily Ticker that while there appeared to be a current turnaround, housing's future was a "great unknown."

Has housing truly turned the corner to a full recovery?

Or is Shiller right that longer term, housing's recovery could be uncertain?



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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.


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