Home, apartment construction up in June
A home under construction is seen in Windham, N.H. Builders began work on a seasonally adjusted 629,000 homes last month, a 14.6 percent increase from May, the federal government said. (June 19, 2011) Credit: AP
Builders broke ground on more single-family homes and apartments in June, helping the battered construction industry gain a little life after a dismal spring.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders began work on a seasonally adjusted 629,000 homes last month, a 14.6 percent increase from May.
Still, that's roughly half the 1.2 million homes per year that economists say must be built to sustain a healthy housing market. Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, called the gains "just a blip in the overall flat-lining trend of home building activity."
Much of the increase in June came from a surge in apartment construction, a volatile part of the industry. That sector jumped more than 30 percent last month.
Since 1992 apartments have typically made up just 20 percent of home construction. Now they make up closer to 30 percent of the market.
Single-family home construction rose 9.4 percent. It was the biggest increase since June 2009, when the recession officially ended.
