Get out those hammers! The Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that U.S. builders broke ground on 872,000 single-family homes and apartments in September—the fastest rate since July 2008. The number represents an increase of 15 percent from August. Construction activity is now 82.5 percent above the recession low of April 2009, though it is still well below the 1.5 million rate that indicates a healthy market. Each new home built creates an average of three jobs and creates about $90,000 in tax revenue.
