April column for Builder & Developer magazine now online

My column for the April issue of Builder & Developer magazine is now posted online.

For this issue, entitled "The Economic Rebound Continues, Albeit Slowly," I reviewed the variety of good news on the economic front.  While the rebound certainly isn't robust enough as in past recoveries, it is still largely in positive territory.

An excerpt:

Housing starts, long seen as one of the best forward-looking indicators of future sales and leasing activity, rose by nearly 35% between February 2011 and 2012 to 698,000 units.  Although the increase in starts for multi-family structures was far higher than the overall average at 108%, single-family starts still rose by 17.8%.  During the same time period, building permit activity rose by about the same amount, posting an overall increase of 34.3% and averaged by gains of 23.6% for single-family homes and nearly 60% for multi-family buildings of five units or more...

...both consumer and building confidence are holding their own even after the recent rise in gas prices.  For consumers, as long as gas prices don’t float up to $5 per gallon, their optimism about the improving job market is helping the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment to hold onto the last five months of gains. Similarly, NAHB’s Housing Market Index continues to hold at 28, its highest level since June of 2007.  So, while the housing rebound may seem uneven and spotty, it is definitely underway....

To read the entire column, click here.

To read the entire April 2012 issue in digital format, click here.