While homebuilding increased this past February, it is still quite a bit short of the activity seen in February of 2008. In Feb. of this year, the amount of permits issued and homes being constructed rose to about 547,000 and 583,000, but this is still over 50% less then that of the same month in 2007. There is also still a huge 10-month pile of homes available for sale, and sales are moving at a fairly sluggish pace. Yet, builders are continuing to build. To explain this seemingly odd occurrence, David Crowe, the chief economist for the National Association of Homebuilders or NAHB, stated that "There's a minimum level of building activity that goes on even in recessions,...People are building their own homes or acting as general contractors and hiring our members to build them. That's in the range of 200,000 to 300,000 homes a year." One type of home always on the demand with buyers is condos. Condos always seem to do well on the market, as if need be the buyers can easily switch them into rentals, until it is more appropriate price wise to sell. Monthly loan payments on new loans have also dropped, thus enticing the buyers even more. Builders believe that buying will increase, as many projects froze during the height of the crisis and now the involved parties are ready to start again, thus more building contracts.

Builders are also continuing to build as construction costs have dropped. Building materials are now available at a cheaper cost, lumber being half the price it was three years ago. Based on data from the Census Bureau, building costs have lowered over 10% since the start of 2007. Furthermore, contractors are also lowering bids to get the job, as competition is high.