Residential Construction Expected to Pick Up in 2020

Want news that will help extend the holiday cheer all year long? Recent housing stats exceeded expectations, and 2020 is expected to be even better. Even financial giant Fannie Mae is feeling the good vibes as the company adjusted its prediction for housing starts to a 10 percent jump that will yield one million homes by 2021—Happy Holidays, indeed.

The new year is shaping up to be a good one for homebuyers—at least those interested in buying new homes. Not only are homebuilders more confident in the market than have been in 20-plus years, but recent construction numbers are surpassing expectations.

In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, residential building permits hit a 12-year high last month, surging 11.1% over the year. Housing starts were also up, jumping 13.6% over last November, while housing completions rose 7.3%. It’s the sixth consecutive month housing starts have grown.

The developments, along with strong economic growth, spurred Fannie Mae to revise its housing forecast for 2020. The company now predicts housing starts to jump 10% across 2020, with 1 million new homes hitting the market by 2021.

As Doug Duncan, chief economist and senior vice president at Fannie Mae explains, “We now expect single-family housing starts and sales of new homes to increase substantially, aided by a large uptick in new construction as builders work to replenish inventories drawn down by the recent surge in new home sales activity.”

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