St. Louis New Home Construction Activity Continues to Increase; Fed Chairman Bernanke Warns of Moderate Reovery Though

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-This morning, the Commerce Department released its new home construction report showing that, on a national basis, all aspects of new home construction, permits, starts and completions, are up double digits in October 2012 from the year before.  The Home Builders Association’s new home report shows similar results in St. Louis as well with permits in St. Louis county up almost 24 percent in October from a year before, a 44 percent increase in St. Charles County and modest decreases in Jefferson County and Franklin County.

Not to put a damper on things, but also today, TheStreet.com reported that Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, while speaking before the New York Economic Club, said that the recovery for the housing industry is “likely to remain moderate by historical standards.”   According to the article, Bernanke went on to say that “a number of factors continue to prevent the sort of powerful housing recovery that has typically occurred in the past.” The “factors” Bernanke was referring to include; tight credit conditions (even for good borrowers), the fact that over 20 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are underwater on their mortgages as well as the “substantial overhang of vacant homes which holds down prices and reduces the need for new construction.”

 

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