Definition of "Housing starts"

Steve Purcell real estate agent

Written by

Steve Purcellelite badge icon

Re/Max Affinity Plus

A measure of actual starts of houses, condominiums, and apartment construction. When an economy is going to take a downturn, the housing sector is the first to decline. The strength in housing starts means not only that the housing industry is healthy, but suggests strength in the overall economy. Housing starts figures are issued monthly by the Department of Commerce. Housing is a key interest-sensitive sector that usually leads the rest of the economy out of the recession. For the housing sector to be sustained, housing start figures need to be backed by building permits. Permits are considered a leading indicator of housing starts.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Active photoelectric cell made of silicon and activated by electromagnetic energy in the form of light waves. They are now used in a wide range of electronic systems including ...

Form of lighting designed to have 90% to 100% of the emitted light directed upward so the principal illumination is reflected rather than direct. Indirect lighting is designed to have less ...

Pipe fitting shaped like the letter U permitting an intersecting pipe to be directed around another pipe. Plumbing connection between two water pipes in the same system. Passageway ...

A partition or wall that provides no support to the structure in which it is located. For example, a nonbearing partition or wall does not support any floors above it. A partition which ...

Work required as a court judgment because of a crime committed. ...

Agreement in which the contract price to build something is equal to the total costs incurred plus a predetermined profit. The profit may be based on a percentage of cost (e.g., 20% of ...

Clause in a percentage lease permitting the landlord to cancel a lease and recover the property if the tenant's sales fall below a specified level. Clause in a lease permitting the ...

Under law, a warranty in effect even if not expressly stated. It provides that real property sold is warranted to be appropriate for sale and is in proper condition even if not stated, ...

Measures looking at the past, current a future direction of the economy. They may have an impact on the real estate market. Each month government bodies, including the Federal Reserve ...

Popular Real Estate Questions