Dive summary:

• Builders are saying they have turned the corner to majority optimism about the near future, but looking at the current rise in housing starts and home sales suggests talk of a housing "bubble" are overblown.
• Sales are racing ahead because the supply has lagged so far behind demand for the past several years due to builders pulling back and so many existing homes being in foreclosure or at leasr under water.
• Single-family starts that are up 50% from 18 months ago are still at about a third of what was going on in 2005.

From the article:

Outside of a recession, starts haven't been this low since the mid-1960s when the U.S. population was less than two-thirds of today's level. ...