We have been saying it for some time now – the USA market is certainly recovering.
U.S. home prices rose in March, marking the biggest annual increase in seven years, in the latest sign of strength for the recovering housing market. CoreLogic’s home price index jumped 1.9 percent from the previous month and accelerated by 10.5 percent compared to March last year. That was the biggest year-over-year increase since March 2006.
Home prices have been rising since last year, helped by investor demand and tighter inventory. The recovery is also evidenced in the number of homes being constructed. Groundbreaking to build new U.S. homes rose in March to the highest level since 2008. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that starts at building sites for homes rose 7.0 percent last month to a 1,036,000-unit annual rate. That was higher than analysts’ expectations of a 930,000-unit rate.
A recovery in housing, driven by growing demand and record-low mortgage rates, is boosting other sectors of the economy Home building added to national economic growth last year for the first time since 2005 and is expected to provide support this year.
Even the Fed agrees – “A sustained recovery in the housing market appears to be under way,” Elizabeth Duke, a board member at the Fed, said in a speech last week.
Warren Buffett said ‘I’d buy up a couple hundred thousand single family homes if I could.’ (see page 3 of our News Archive) It is hard to disagree with the greatest investor of our time.
