Home sales jump good for construction employment

In spite of news that U.S. home sales through May were up by 11 percent nationally and 22.6 percent in Colorado on a year-over-year basis, new residential construction continued to lag behind May 2008 levels, according to Reed Construction chief economist Jim Haughey.

That may soon change, however, thanks to last month’s upswing in new home sales.

The latest Census Bureau new home sales statistics showed sales of new homes in 13 western states, including Colorado, jumped in June from the previous month.

This June the Western United States as a whole saw the highest level of new-home sales since last July - down 9.6 percent compared to the same month last year. The nationwide decline was higher at 21.3 percent.

Almost 103,000 new homes were sold in the Rocky Mountain West, California, the Southwest and in the Northwest during June, up from 84,000 for May.

The last highest sales month for home sales in the West occurred during July 2008, when 123,000 homes were sold, the Census Bureau reported.