September housing starts best in 4 years

September was the best month since July 2008 for new housing starts. Home construction rose 15% in September, with an annualized volume of 872,000 housing starts. Construction has risen by more than 38% over the past 12 months. New housing starts are now 82.5% above the recession low reached in April 2009 when housing starts had dropped to 478,000 . House starts have been predicted to hit an average of 750,00 monthly this year, with anticipated growth to 950,000 in 2013, and accelerating to 1.27 million in 2014. A strong market is reached at 1.5 million units. Apartment construction is also on the rise. The largest gains in new housing construction were in the West and South where housing starts grew by over 20%.