Even before the Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates, the mere anticipation of such moves is already thawing the US housing market.

A series of reports this week showed activity coming back to life: Housing starts surged to a six-month high, sales of previously owned homes picked up from a 13-year low and builder optimism was boosted by increased interest from prospective buyers. Meanwhile, Americans’ home-buying plans rose this month by the most in more than a year.

Reprinted courtesy of Katia Dmitrieva, Bloomberg and Michael Sasso, Bloomberg