March 25th, 2013 1:32 PM by Michael and Jill Kohler
Homebuilders were a lot busier in February than they were a year ago, starting construction on 27.7 percent more units, according to Inman News.
Aside from the 982,000 mark seen in December 2012, February's seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000 home starts was the highest since July 2008 when it reached 949,000.
Housing starts of all types were up 0.8 percent from January to February, and have climbed by about 90 percent from a post-collapse bottom in early 2009. Single-family starts are up about 75 percent from their post-bubble low, pointed out Bill McBride on his blog Calculated Risk.
Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 618,000, a 31.5 percent jump from a year ago and up 0.5 percent from January.