U.S. Commerce Department Says Housing Starts Are Up 1.5 Percent

BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - Feb 23, 2012) - The Interface Financial Group (IFG) reports that according to the U.S. Commerce Department U.S. housing starts are up 1.5 percent, the result of a seasonally adjusted annual rate of nearly 700,000 units in January which has now increased for nine consecutive months -- the second-best pace of overall housing production since October of 2008. This solid housing starts report suggests that builders are getting back to work, and adds to the growing field of evidence that the overall housing market is gradually but consistently moving in the right direction

The three-month moving average for housing starts has now increased for nine consecutive months, an indication of a solid recovery in housing activity. This stems from recent firming in employment and consumer confidence.

"Housing production is still far from normal, based on a healthy market," said George Shapiro, IFG's chairman and chief executive officer. "Alternative funding strategies like invoice factoring could help SMEs finance their continued business and grow as the economy continues to improve during 2012. IFG's spot factoring solution enables an SME to sell their accounts receivable invoices to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash within less than 24 hours."

Home builders are still facing tight credit conditions, continued foreclosures of properties on the market and challenging appraisals. This points towards a slower pace of improvement in housing, even as recent builder surveys indicate a steady and increasing optimism regarding current market conditions. Overall the number of improving housing markets nationwide has grown substantially over the past six months.

Factoring is an ideal alternative funding solution for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at this point in the United States' economic recovery. Building on significant upward revisions to numbers for the previous two months, nationwide production of new single-family homes and apartments increased 1.5 percent according to newly released figures from the U.S. Commerce Department. This marks the second-best pace of overall housing production since October of 2008.

Accounts receivable factoring involves the purchase of financial assets, or receivables accounts. There are no upfront fees and no co-signers required. IFG has no minimum sales volume requirement, and professional fees are competitive because each client's circumstances vary, which may have an impact on the fees charged.

IFG private label solutions include export factoring, providing services for companies who export from the United States and Canada; P.O. Funding to finance purchase orders when a company receives a purchase order and needs to purchase supplies to fulfill the order; Construction Factoring; and Inventory Financing, a solution promoting a company's growth by funding them when they need to purchase inventory or must expand.

IFG does not expect to buy 100 percent of a company's receivables and professional rates are competitive. The program allows choices of invoices to be factored, enabling customers to retain most of their money, to spend the minimum fees, plus guarantee adequate cash flow.

About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com)

The Interface Financial Group (IFG) is North America's largest alternative funding source for small business, providing short-term financial resources, including invoice factoring (invoice discounting). The company serves clients in more than 30 industries in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland, and offers cross-border transaction facilities. With more than 140 offices across North America and over 39 years of experience, IFG provides innovative accounts receivable factoring services and solutions by offering short-term working capital to growing businesses. Single invoice factoring, or spot factoring, is an extremely fast way to turn receivables into cash.

IFG was founded in 1972 to provide short-term working capital to help small to medium-sized businesses grow. The IFG organization operates on a local level, providing clients with local knowledge and experience and business expertise in numerous diverse areas in addition to accounts receivable factoring, including accounting, finance, law, marketing and banking.