Housing Industry on Firmer Ground
January 11, 2012
Home builders are expected to start at least 10 percent more homes in 2012 than they did last year — the first double-digit bump for the industry since the 2006 market peak and subsequent downturn. And the Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas could provide more opportunity for the local real estate industry.
It’s welcome news for builders, who hit a high of more than 19,000 home starts in 2006, then faced a painful five-year contraction and bottoming.
The 2 percent improvement in building starts in 2011, when builders started 6,843 homes, should be trumped this year. And — barring some outside economic disaster — the good times should keep rolling from there.
Inselmann spoke at the Greater San Antonio Builders Association’s annual forecast breakfast at the Omni San Antonio Hotel, saying the recovery started in 2011, albeit at a glacial pace that “was almost invisible to the naked eye.”
“We’re going to go up more in 2013 and even more in 2014,” he said.