Builder certainty highest in 61/2 years

Housing

the Great Recession.

Another big reason for the rebound: The excess supply of homes that were built during the housing boom has finally thinned out. Only 149,000 new homes were for sale at the end of last month, according to the report. That’s just above a record low of 143,000 in August.

The increase in the supply of new homes for sale was the first sustained rise in five years. Economists said that reflects growing optimism among builders that the recovery will endure.

Builder confidence rose this month to its highest level in 6½ years, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo survey released last week.

The pace of home construction is nearly 22 percent higher than a year earlier, according to government data. Builders are on track this year to start work on the most homes in four years.

There have been other signs of a recovery in the housing market.

Home prices are also increasing. The Standard & Poor’s/CaseShiller national home price index released Wednesday increased 4.3 percent in October compared with a year ago. That’s the largest yearover-year increase in 2 ½ years. And prices rose for the 12-month period in 18 of the 20 cities tracked by the index.

Sales of previously occupied homes rose to the highest level in three years in November, the National Association of Realtors said last week.

Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to statistics from the National Association of Home Builders.