HousingWire executive editor Jacob Gaffney appeared on CNN’s Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien this morning, where he discussed the recent surge in housing starts and whether we’re seeing a sustainable housing recovery.
“We are absolutely in a housing recovery,” Gaffney said. “That is a 45% improvement yearly on housing permits. So, the trend of housing starts, new homes built, is going to continue.” Still, Gaffney says, these numbers are lower than in 2006. Gaffney echoed CNN’s Christine Romans’ assessment that “we would have to double or triple housing starts from here to be healthy.”
He also made a critical point that isn’t really being discussed — yet — by major media: housing may be in a modest recovery, but that recovery is utterly dependent on a vibrant mortgage market. Right now, purchase lending remains extremely limited and this will constrain the nascent recovery taking place in housing, Gaffney said during the interview.
Full video at the below link:
Or watch the video below:
