The Road to Recovery : Survey Finds Some Industries Rolling Along but Others Are Stalled : REAL ESTATE
When word of recovery started to spread, it spread first in the housing industry. Spurred by lower home sale prices and a decline in interest rates earlier this year, housing has been among the first industries to show signs of new vitality.
New-home sales rose in April for the third consecutive month, according to the latest statistics from the Commerce Department. And after an 8.2% increase in April, construction of new homes and apartments inched up 0.1% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 982,000 units. That’s the first time housing starts have risen for two straight months in almost two years.
However, housing’s troubled cousin--commercial buildings--continues to be mired in a glut of office space that could leave some cities with half-empty buildings for years. Nationwide, nearly 20% of available commercial office space nationwide remains vacant.
“You are always going to have regional differences, but nationwide--on average--you’re looking at increased demand for housing,” said David L. Liniger, chairman of Re/Max International, a Colorado-based firm that has more than 1,500 franchised real estate offices across the country.
Still, not everyone is convinced that the demand will hold up. Recent rises in home prices and interest rates cloud the outlook.
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