As the excess inventory of new homes built during the boom years continues to be slowly absorbed, the number of new homes started has fallen to an all-time low -- at least since records were first kept in 1959. From an AP story via the LA Times:
New-home construction plunged to an all-time low in December, capping the worst year for builders on records dating back to 1959.
The Commerce Department reported today that construction of new homes and apartments fell 15.5 percent to an annual rate of 550,000 units last month. That shattered the previous low set in November...
For all of last year, the number of housing units that builders broke ground on totaled just over 904,000, also a record low. That marked a huge 33.3 percent drop from the 1.355 million housing units started in 2007. The previous low was set in 1991.
The report also showed that applications for building permits -- considered a reliable sign of future activity -- sank to a rate of 549,000 in December, a 10.7 percent drop from the previous month...
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index, released Wednesday, dropped one point to a record 8 in January. The index was at 9 for the previous two months. Index readings higher than 50 indicate positive sentiment about the market. But the index has been below 50 since May 2006, and below 20 since April...
Thursday, January 22, 2009
New home starts fall to all-time low
Friday, October 17, 2008
New home construction falls to 6-decade low
For those folks who think that home builders are only worsening the problem of unsold homes by continuing to add new inventory, new stats out by the Commerce Department show what we've already seen behind the scenes: starts have fallen to a six-decade low. From an AP story via the LATimes:
Construction of new homes plunged by a bigger-than-expected amount in September as builders slashed production yet again, putting the country on track to build the fewest homes this year in more than six decades.
A barometer of future building also dropped, falling to the weakest level in more than 25 years. Analysts blamed the renewed swoon on the financial crisis which erupted with force this fall, raising new anxieties among potential home buyers and making it harder for builders to get construction loans.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 6.3 percent last month, a much bigger decline than the 1.6 percent decrease that had been expected. It pushed total production to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000 units. That's the slowest pace since January 1991, when the U.S. was in a recession and going through a similar painful housing correction...
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