Austin housing starts reach fastest rate since ’06

Housing starts reach fastest rate since ’06 With no letup in housing demand, Central Texas builders kept up their swift pace in the first quarter, starting construction on homes at the fastest rate in a decade, according to new figures. Austin-area builders started work on 3,487 homes in the first quarter, a 1.3 percent increase over the same period last year, according to Metrostudy, which tracks the housing market locally and nationally. The new figure was the highest level for a first quarter since 2006, when starts peaked at 4,387, Metrostudy said.