Trump Economy Soaring: Homebuilding Surges to 13-Year High
America’s housing market boomed in December as part of the roaring economy under President Donald Trump.
Housing starts jumped 16.9 percent from November, the largest percentage gain since October 2016, according to CNBC.
The December annualized rate of 1.608 million units was a 40.8 percent increase from December 2018 and represented the highest level since December 2006.
The torrid December meant that for the year, an estimated 1.29 million housing units began construction in 2019, an increase of 3.2 percent from 2018.
In a bullish sign for the US economy and the real estate sector, housing starts surged in Dec, far above expectations. The key takeaway: the 1yr trend accelerated to nearly a 41% gain! That’s the strongest increase in nearly 7yrs! https://t.co/ZqVVSUIFUx pic.twitter.com/BFekAaJKoo
— James Picerno (@jpicerno) January 17, 2020
BREAKING: The Trump economy continues to grow and break records.
U.S. home-building surged to a 13-YEAR-HIGH in December, surging past “expectations.”
The economy continues to buzz and create new opportunities for Americans! https://t.co/YRunDLNq66
— Andrew Clark (@AndrewHClark) January 17, 2020
The housing boom was not even across all parts of the nation. Single-family housing starts rose in the Midwest and South but dipped in the high-tax Northeast and also in the West.
“Lower mortgage rates should continue to support housing activity, at least in the near-term,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, said, according to MarketWatch.
The December pace might be hard to maintain as the construction industry faces a labor shortage, according to Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman.
“[I]t’s extremely difficult to find and hire workers, skilled or otherwise,” Bowman said Thursday.
The homebuilding report comes as Wall Street closed Friday with yet record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 29,348, while the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite index also closed at new highs.
Overall last week, the indexes posted the largest percentage gains they had recorded since Aug. 30.
Look at Obama’s numbers. He was a wet blanket on the US economy.https://t.co/Zh3FZcIa3n
— David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) January 17, 2020
#aupol RT ThomasSowell: “People like Paul Krugman were saying that when Trump gets in, the economy is going to tank. No. The economy hit new highs. There are so many people, especially among the intelligentsia, who are absolutely immune to facts.” pic.twitter.com/xx4gqfPnvW
— Thomas Sowell (@ThomasSowellRT) January 19, 2020
Over the past six weeks, the Dow has been up for five of those weeks while the Nasdaq has risen six straight weeks. The S&P 500 Index has risen for the past two weeks.
“This read blows expectations out of the water,” Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E-Trade, said in an email, according to MarketWatch.
“Housing is one of the most critical metrics to gauge the health of the US economy, and combine this with the low interest rate environment and the future looks like it will continue to shine bright for home buyers,” he said.
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