The number of new housing starts in the first quarter of 2006 spiked dramatically over the same period last year. Metrostudy Corp. says in the quarter ended March 31, 2006, builders put down 4,579 new single-family home starts in the Austin area - a 48 percent increase over the same time last year. That brought the annual new home start rate to almost 17,000 homes, a 29 percent increase over the annual start rate a year ago and a new record for the Austin market. Eldon Rude, director of Metrostudy’s Austin division, says an influx of out-of-state families moving to Austin and a tight resale home supply have put an increased demand on the local new home market. At the same time, builders have been struggling to develop enough finished lots, with the lot supply dropping to less than 18 months in the first quarter of 2006. During the same time last year, the lot supply was two years. (Austin-Round Rock: Housing)