This week, the Commerce Department reported that construction on new homes rose 15 percent in September, reaching its highest level in four years and fueling optimism that a recovery was finally underway in the long-moribund housing market. A genuine rebound could benefit the broader economy immensely, boosting home prices, enlarging household wealth, and spurring activity in key industries such as construction and manufacturing. However, analysts have repeatedly proclaimed the housing market's rebirth, only to see it continue limping along. Is the rebound real this time?
Yes. There's no doubt about it: "OK, OK, housing market, enough already, we get it: You're recovering," says Mark Gongloff at The Huffington Post. "Like Little Orphan Annie warming the heart of Daddy Warbucks with song and pluck, our nation's housing market is finally even winning over cynics like me." New housing construction is still growing at a slower rate than is normal in a healthy economy, but it's part of a "big and sustained rally from a very deep bottom."
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