| The reanimation of America’s housing market has been a long time coming. Residential building last contributed positively to growth in 2005. Housing-construction employment has dropped 43% since then. Government efforts to resuscitate the market have flopped. Yet tantalising signs of a durable recovery are emerging at last.
The National Association of Home Builders’ index of builder confidence rose for a fifth consecutive month in February, to its highest level since May 2007. Sales of previously-owned homes rose 4.3% from December to January. The housing overhang is receding. The number of homes for sale dropped 21% in the year to January, to just over six months of supply—a “normal” level.................................................Full Article: Source
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