The Commerce Department reported Thursday that construction was started on 1.353 million new homes and apartments last year, down 24.8 percent from 2006. It was the second biggest annual decline on record…The Wall Street Journal adds:
Many economists believe that the current slump in housing will rival the dive in the late 1970s and early 1980s when housing construction fell for four straight years before beginning to recover after the severe 1981-82 recession…
For December, housing starts totaled 1.006 million units at an annual rate. In an ominous sign for the future, applications for building permits fell by 8.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.068 million units. That marked the seventh consecutive monthly decline and reflected the fact that builders have been slashing production plans in an effort to deal with a glut of unsold homes.
Year over year, housing starts during December were 38.2% below the level of construction in December 2006…
Builders have been pulling back because sales for new homes have plunged while the supply of unsold homes hovers high. The latest government report on new-home sales in the U.S., covering November, showed a 9.0% decline to an annual rate of 647,000, down 34.4% from November 2006…
December single-family housing starts decreased 2.9% to 794,000. Construction of housing with two or more units fell 40.3% to 212,000; within that category, groundbreakings of homes with five or more units — or multi-family — were 41.1% lower.
See also:
AP: “October Home Prices Post Record Decline” (12/26/07)
The record 6.7 percent drop marked the 23rd consecutive month of price deceleration.
AP: Massachusetts home sales post double-digit decline (12/19/07)
Home sales in Massachusetts are down by a double-digit percentage for the third month in a row…
…a 15 percent drop in single-family home sales in November compared with the same month a year ago…
Condominium sales fell 23 percent in November.
Condo prices are down 4 percent…
Krugman, NY Times: Home Prices Have Plenty of Room on the Downside (12/14/07)
To restore a historically normal ratio of housing prices to rents or incomes, average home prices would have to fall about 30 percent from their current levels…
Republican: Florence condo units sold at half-price (12/4/07)
Gazette: “Foreclosure deeds double in area counties” (12/6/07)