Dive Brief:
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Despite some fairly drastic ups and downs in the numbers of home sales, housing starts and home prices over the past few months, Fitch Ratings, a credit ratings agency, predicts year-end results will be positive.
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The fall edition of the organization’s Chalk Line report on homebuilding and construction estimates single-family starts will improve 3% for the year, and multifamily building to grow almost 17.5% in 2014.
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New home sales, the group says, will be up 1.5% over last year’s numbers, but existing home sales will fall by 6% this year as fewer distressed homes go on the market.
Dive Insight:
Although Fitch calls 2014 “disappointing” for the residential building industry, analysts there forecast a brighter 2015. New home sales are likely to increase next year by 18%, they estimate, and sales of existing homes will make a comeback, with a 5% increase by the end of next year.