Archive for June, 2009

WASHINGTON–Construction of new homes jumped in May by the largest amount in three months, an encouraging sign that the deep American housing slump is bottoming out.

The commerce department said yesterday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 17.2 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 532,000 units – better than the 500,000-unit pace economists expected – after construction fell in April to 454,000 units.

In another encouraging sign, applications for building permits, an indicator of future activity, rose 4 per cent in May to an annual rate of 518,000 units.

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The much-touted $8,000 federal tax credit — or at least a good chunk of it — for first-time home buyers is now available to Texas home buyers who want to use the money for a down payment or closing costs.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs this week started a short-term loan program that allows people to get a slice of the $8,000 upfront, then pay it back to the state when their federal tax credit money rolls in.

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