Lending for U.S. construction continued its glacial pace recovery in the first quarter, housing reporter Kris Hudson writes in The Wall Street Journal.
Data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Co. show that the outstanding balance of FDIC-backed loans in construction stood at $26.1 billion in the first quarter, a 3.2 percent increase from the previous quarter.
The amount is now 22.1 percent above the post-crash low of early 2013. According to Hudson, the latest measure is closer to its lowest point than its peak, as the first-quarter tally is 61 percent less than the market’s peak of $631.8 billion in late 2007.
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