Stuart Hirschhorn FLOOR COVERING STATISTICAL TRENDS AND OUTLOOK - Housing Data Something happened on the way to the predicted double-dip recession that was to be caused by the European debt crisis and the paralysis in Washington- the housing market showed strong gains and specialty floor coverings store sales turned upwards. These trends can be seen in the following reports. • According to the Department of Commerce ( http://www.census.gov/const/newresconst.pdf ), housing permits increased by 6.5% and starts rose by 5.5% in the third quarter of 2011. In October, these gains accelerated, growing 17.7% and 18.9%, respectively. • Existing home sales increased at even sharper rates. According to the National Association of Realtors existing home sales increased by 17.8% in the third quarter of 2011 and by 11.7% in October.( http://www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata ) • Floor covering store sales also began to rebound as housing demand increased. Commerce reported t
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