Housing starts continued to ease during the fourth quarter of last year, to an annualised 202,855, from 221,709 in the prior quarter. Nevertheless, it is possible that overall residential investment actually rebounded slightly over the final few months of last year, thanks to continuing construction on condo projects started in earlier quarters. As a result, the economy might have averted a third consecutive quarterly decline in residential investment. Nonetheless, the downward trend in existing home sales and pre-construction condo sales, far more timely barometers of housing demand, suggests that residential investment will resume its downward descent in 2013.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services