Numbers Bode Well For Landscape Business

New home construction is enjoying an unexpected surge, according to numbers from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Photo: Lynn Betts, USDA.

Housing construction is at its highest level in five months and new home sales are enjoying a similar spike, according to August numbers just out from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.

The number of housing projects launched rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of two million units, a 0.6 percent increase from July's level.

The figures also turned out to be stronger than the government first estimated, with housing construction shooting up by 9.4 percent so far this year to an annual rate of nearly 2 million units.

?EUR??,,????'??I think this is a very good signal that the economy is coming along nicely,?EUR??,,????'?? said David Seiders, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders.

According to the report, housing construction went up in all regions of the country in August except for the West.

The sales jump was the largest since December 2000, when new home sales jumped by 11.7 percent from the previous month. This August's numbers are a reversal of July's figures, when new home sales fell by 7.3 percent.

?EUR??,,????'??Single-family home sales continue to remain strong well into the third quarter of the year,?EUR??,,????'?? said Bobby Rayburn, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home and apartment builder from Jackson, Miss. ?EUR??,,????'??Builders across the country remain upbeat about the housing market.?EUR??,,????'??

Builders in the Northeast broke ground on 196,000 units, on an annualized basis, last month, a 6.5 percent increase from July's level. In the Midwest, housing construction rose by 4.8 percent to a rate of 370,000. In the South, housing starts went up by 1 percent to a pace of 907,000. But in the West, housing construction dropped by 4.7 percent to a pace of 527,000.

August numbers are the most recently available, but other indications have the housing market remaining strong into October and beyond.

?EUR??,,????'??In the midst of a particularly devastating hurricane season, builder confidence is essentially unshaken,?EUR??,,????'?? said Bobby Rayburn, president of the National Association of Home Builders.

By the Numbers

New Houses Sold During Period By Construction Stage-Survey:

(Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding)