Though some think that the pace of the housing recovery

is unsustainable. However, Jonathan Smoke, the Chief Economist of realtor.com explains the basic difference between 2005 and today:

“The havoc during the last cycle was the result of building too many homes and of speculation fueled by loose credit. That’s the exact opposite of what we have today.”

If we look at the number of new single family housing starts over the last 30 years, we can see that the numbers of housing starts during the current recovery (2012-Today) are still way below historic averages, and

are far less than the numbers built during the run-up to the housing bubble (2002-2006).

A single family housing start is defined as “the number of permits issued for construction of new single family housing units. Housing starts are an important economic indicator

due to its extensive spill over benefits for the other sectors of the economy (retail, manufacturing, utilities).”

Current demand for housing actually calls for more new construction to be built – not less. We should at least return to historically normal levels.