Recent reports from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development have shown growth in housing markets. The numbers are showing that there has been an 11.9% increase in single-family permits posted in May. On top of that, total housing starts saw a rise of 4.3%. These updates are vastly different from the numbers from the HUD.gov's April statistics in which they noted that "Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 650,000; this is 25.4 percent below the revised March figure of 871,000."

 

NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz responded to this data in saying, "The May housing report is consistent with the positive results of the NAHB/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index, and we expect this momentum to continue as economic activity recovers."

Additionally, Realtor.com revealed a growing number of people looking for homes in May. Jacob Passy of MarketWatch reported that "Views of online home listings in May 2020 on Realtor.com grew by 13% compared to May 2019 for suburban ZIP codes, roughly double the rate of urban areas, researchers found."

June has seen economic growth with the DOW having increased by over 40% since March 23, and a 1.4% drop in the unemployment rates. Now with the housing market on the rise, there appears to be more reason for cautious optimism in the middle of a pandemic.