Archive for February, 2010
Nonresidential Building Recession Deepens Slowly
Construction starts have inched higher in the last six months after the cyclical low last June. Most market drivers picked to measure monthly nonresidential construction activity are negative, especially for developer financed commercial projects, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.
Residential Market Pause Continues
While most residential market drivers are now positive, they contributed very little to the initial recovery in the housing market in the second half of 2009. The turnaround in permits, starts and sales was driven by federal subsidies to the housing market — down payment assistance, aggressive monetary policy to hold down mortgage rates and partial forgiveness of some monthly mortgage payments, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.
Dip Ahead for Long Steady Heavy Construction Spending
While reasonably balanced, heavy construction market drivers have softened in the last few months, mostly due to the flow of public funding. This has already appeared in ebbing starts for heavy projects in the last few months, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.
U.S. housing starts approach 600,000-unit benchmark level
According to the latest government data, U.S. housing starts in January 2010 were 591,000 units, +2.8% versus their December level. More dramatically, they were +21.1%
Heading into 2010, Saskatoon’s economic health is second to none
Saskatoon appears to be leading the country in terms of overall economic health.
