The number of housing starts increased in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 658,000 units, according to a recent report by the Commerce Department.
The agency reported that U.S. housing starts increased 15 percent from the previous month and 10.2 percent from September 2010. Single-family home starts, which make up 70 percent of all housing starts, increased 1.7 percent over the previous month. However, they were down 4.9 percent from the same time last year.
"Today's numbers are very welcome evidence that builders are putting some crews back to work on single-family homes in select markets where economic conditions are improving," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.
According to the report, September home starts in the Midwest increased 9.3 percent from August, which is good news for real estate in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. This increase could mean an improving economy and a stabilizing housing market in the region.
