U.S. builders started work on homes in December at the fastest pace since the summer of 2008, and 2012 ended as the best year for residential construction since the beginning of the housing crisis, the government reported Thursday. The Commerce Department said starts of new houses and apartments surged 12.1 percent last month to an annual rate of 954,000. Much of the strength in December was from a 20.3 percent jump in multi-family construction. Starts for single-family homes, the biggest segment of the market, climbed 8.1 percent to a 616,000-unit pace. Permits for future home construction rose slightly to a 903,000-unit rate, the highest rate since July 2008. For all of 2012, builders started work on 780,000 homes, an increase of 28.1 percent from the 608,800 homes started in 2011 and the most since 2008, shortly after the housing bubble burst. Steady job gains, record-low mortgage rates, and a tight supply of new and previously occupied homes available for sale are helping the housing market recover. This year, homebuilding is expected to provide more support to overall economic growth, which would partially counter the drag expected from tighter fiscal policy as Washington works to shrink federal budget deficits.
