New data emerging on the report just released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development show that housing starts, or number of groundbreakings, were up in 2015 by close to 11 percent from 2014, making 2015 the best year in new residential construction since 2007.This could ease the upward pressure on home prices in the residential housing market, at least in some areas, since a still very low inventory of for sale properties has affected affordability conditions. As expected, things do slow down during the winter and the month of December saw a slight downturn from November's pace. In fact, the number of single-family homes being built during December fell 3.3 percent from November. Still, both permits to build new homes and housing starts saw double-digit increases over 2014. The number of building permits being granted, which is an accurate indicator of future home construction saw a decline primarily among multi-family buildings. However, the number of permits pulled for the construction of new single-family homes rose, climbing 1.8 percent month-over-month.We all sure hope here in Boston or New England in general that we won't have the kind of extreme winter conditions we had in 2015 that brought everything to a halt. But despite a slower winter pace, which is expected, based on the rise in new permits being pulled we can rest assured that housing starts will pick back up in the spring, making up for the lost time, and I foresee a very hectic season for builders and developers alike.
