Single-Family Housing Starts Down 64.5% From Peak [Housing Tracker]

Housing Data 

Home Builders Staying Busy. Texas: Heinz Roesch, executive officer of the Hill Country Home Builders Association: Sales of existing homes have slowed somewhat in the Kerrville area, but construction and sales of new homes still are on track. Builders are busier than ever here. Some are actually turning down jobs because there aren’t any subcontractors available.” The projected population growth from 2005 to 2008 is 7% and the popularity of the area has just about doubled the median home price in the past three years.” (Daily Times, July 21^st) 

Priced out of the American Dream.  South Carolina: “Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Lowcountry Housing Trust study: Most Charleston-area residents are unable to afford a home that's close to where they work. Local wage increases haven't kept pace with housing prices that surged several years ago during the national and local housing boom... Local leaders say the issue is starting to threaten the region's quality of life as commuters clog major roadways during rush hour. The area's economic viability is also at stake, as some business owners say they are struggling to recruit and retain good employees.”  (Charleston.net, July 21^st)

Single-Family Housing Starts And Permits Decline In June. “Commerce Dept.: Single-family home builders continued to slow the pace of new construction in June. Starts of new single-family homes declined 5.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000 units in June. This was the slowest pace in 17 years, and marked a decline of 64.5% from the peak of the building boom in January of 2006… "Builders continue to do their part to reduce inventories of unsold homes on the market by reining in new construction," noted Sandy Dunn, president of the National Association of Home Builders.”  (Originator Times, July 21^st)

Housing Starts Are Lifted By Building-Code Change. “Commerce Dept.: Housing starts increased 9.1% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 1.1 million annual rate… NYC enacted a new set of construction codes effective for permits authorized as of July 1… triggering a large increase in building permits issued… during June… U.S. building permits climbed 12% to a 1.1 million rate in June. May permits decreased by 0.4% to 978,000… Excluding the Northeast multifamily data, U.S. permits rose 0.7% [and] housing starts fell 4% in June… Because of the way housing data are calculated, the jump in New York permits affected the starts numbers, the Commerce Department said.”  (Wall St. Journal, July 18^th)

Housing Starts Dip To Lowest Since '90s. Arizona: “Market research firm Bright Future Business Consultants' Southern Arizona Housing Market Letter: New-home starts plunged this year to levels not seen since the early 1990s. The number of single-family home permits issued in June fell to 320, down 35% from a year ago and down 15% from May. Permits in June 2005, near the peak of the market, totaled 1,240… At least one local builder, Sierra Pacific Homes, has filed for bankruptcy protection this year.”  (AZ StarBiz, July 18^th)

 

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Comments

[AmesTiedeman]

This is good news. We need this to find a bottom by 2011.

[wildwoodmo]

True. The sooner we find the bottom the sooner we see the recovery.