Overall housing supply dropped 11% last month, but according to the Census Bureau’s latest construction numbers, builders are finally stepping in to help. Today’s New Residential Construction Report shows that single-family building permits were up 6.4% in January and 20.2% over the year. According to Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, assistant vice president of forecasting and analysis at the National Association of Home Builders, this is a “useful indicator of future construction activity” and falls in line with recent builder sentiments. The last three NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Indices show builder ... (full story)