BUSINESS
November 18, 2011 | By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times
Construction of single-family homes picked up nationally last month but not in the West. Single-family homes were started in October at an annual rate of 434,000, a 5.1% increase over the previous month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The report follows news of improved builder sentiment released the day before, with an index measuring builder confidence reaching its highest level since May 2010. Economists called the jump in new single-family-home starts a positive sign, as the nation's beleaguered real estate market was at least showing life.
BUSINESS
January 20, 2011 | By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times
New-home construction slumped last month, falling 4.3% from November to December, the government said Wednesday. The month-over-month decline was worse than expected by economists, and construction starts fell 8.2% compared with December 2009 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 units, the Commerce Department reported. A 9% drop in single-family home construction drove the decline from November to December. The news comes one day after the National Assn. of Homebuilders reported that builder sentiment, according to its index, was unchanged at the low level of 16 in January.
NATIONAL
January 18, 2011 | By Lisa Mascaro and Noam N. Levey, Washington Bureau
With the Tucson shootings as a backdrop, the House began debating a Republican resolution Tuesday to repeal President Obama's healthcare overhaul. Both sides took pains to dial back the heated rhetoric that accompanied passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act last year. Bitter debate over the issue helped cut short the careers of many congressional Democrats and ushered in a new political lexicon characterized by outbursts of "You lie!" and "Hell, no!" The conservative passions it generated helped Republicans win control of the House in November.
BUSINESS
November 18, 2010 | By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times
Construction on new residential buildings fell 11.7% in October, far worse than many analysts had expected and providing fresh evidence that the real estate market is struggling as it enters the traditionally slow winter season. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 519,000 last month, a 1.9% decline from October 2009. The weakness was concentrated in the market for buildings with multiple units: apartments and condominiums.
BUSINESS
July 21, 2010 | By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times
New residential construction dropped in June, another indication that the U.S. housing market is struggling. Housing starts fell 5% in June from May, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That was 5.8% below the June 2009 rate. Single-family home construction fell 0.7% in June from May, and construction of apartment buildings dropped nearly 20%. "The housing industry remains stuck in a rut, with both sales and construction activity moribund," said Michael D. Larson, an interest rate analyst with Weiss Research.
BUSINESS
July 20, 2010 | Reuters
U.S. housing starts hit their lowest level in eight months in June, further evidence the economy lost momentum in the second quarter, but a rise in permits offered hope that homebuilding was poised to pick up. The Commerce Department said Tuesday housing starts dropped 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 units, the lowest since October. It was the second straight month of declines in groundbreaking activity and was well below market expectations for a 580,000-unit rate.