Construction Of Single-Family Housing At Eight-Year High: Low Interest Rates, Nice Temperatures (Global Warming, No Doubt) -- December 16, 2015

From the Chicago Tribune:

A big jump in apartment construction in the Midwest and South boosted the pace of homebuilding in November, marking a solid bounce back after tumbling in October. Construction of single-family houses also increased and reached an eight-year high.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that total housing starts — both houses and apartments— climbed 10.5 last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million homes. The increase reversed much of drop in stars during October.

There has been a sharp growth in homebuilding, with starts having increased 11 percent so far this year. Solid hiring over the past two years and relatively low interest rates have buoyed the real estate market, encouraging more people to upgrade to two new houses and sign rental leases.

So, new housing starts at an 8-year high, and automobile sales will hit an all-time record this year.

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Fed Rates Raised

FinanceYahoo!is reporting:

The U.S. central bank's policy-setting committee raised the range of its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to between 0.25 percent and 0.50 percent, ending a lengthy debate about whether the economy was strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs.

Really? "... whether the economy was strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs...." 0.5%. Really.

One and done.