Was wondering what might have caused the 30% or so jump in shovels going into the ground in Nov/Dec!

Might also apply to other Q4 activity as well?

Tax Provisions Expiring in 2013

2013 Expiring Tax Provisions-Housing

These temporary taxes have been routinely extended by congress in the past. However, attempts are being made at tax reform in 2014, and these changes would either alleviate the need to continually extend these temporary provisions or eliminate them altogether. As such, these provisions may not be renewed until late 2014 if major tax reform efforts fail. This may have lead to a November jump in housing starts as consumers worried about the extension of these tax provisions


1. Determination of low-income housing credit rate for credit allocations with respect to non-federally subsidized buildings (sec. 42(b)(2))
   -Amount of credit for low-income (non-subsidized) housing


2. Credit for construction of new energy efficient homes (sec. 45L(g))

3. Credit for energy efficient appliances (sec. 45M(b))

4. Discharge of indebtedness on principal residence excluded from gross income of individuals (sec. 108(a)(1)(E))
   -Debt forgiveness on residences excluded from gross income


5. Premiums for mortgage insurance deductible as interest that is qualified residence interest (sec. 163(h)(3))

6. Treatment of military basic housing allowances under low-income housing credit (sec. 142(d))