Replies to post #2573 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

PCL—Apropos to Rick Holley’s comment in #msg-62419479, the below is from today’s Barron’s:

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748703754104577237350310942574.html

With little room to get worse, U.S. home building is at last showing signs of life. New permits for housing—a gauge of the intention, but not the commitment, to build—hit 676,000 in January, 20% above the year-earlier level. Housing starts in January totaled 699,000, up 10%.

[DewDiligence]

Good news for PCL (#msg-62419479)—another positive blip in the US housing market:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sales-of-existing-homes-climb-3-prices-spike-2012-05-22?

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.62 million, from a downwardly revised 4.47 million in March.

Median prices shot up 10.1% to $177,400 on a year-on-year basis, the biggest percentage rise since January 2006.

[DewDiligence]

Good for PCL—US housing starts in Dec 2012 were 954K (seasonally adjusted), the highest level since Jun 2008:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323468604578247471188721386.html

Still, US housing starts are only about halfway back from the recession low point to the former high, reached in the middle of the prior decade (#msg-62419479).