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Housing starts plunge
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
That was quite a shocker this morning from the Census Bureau when, after many months of leveling off at, albeitly, historically low levels, they reported(.pdf) a plunge of 10.6 percent in housing starts last month along with a drop of 4.0 percent in permits for new construction.
Housing starts fell from a downwardly revised annual rate of 592,000 in September to just 529,000 in October, the third worst reading this year and, not coincidentally, the third worst reading since this data series began back in the 1960s.
The number of building permits also fell, down from a rate of 575,000 to 552,000, in one more indication that the effects of government stimulus - in this case, the expiring homebuyer tax credit that has since been extended - are not very long lasting.
2 comments:
Its the fault of those non safety zoning regulations. Zoning boards are still insisting that only expensive McMansions be built, when the people can only afford more modest dwellings. Boards keep insisting that builders make nearby parks, schools, public buildings, etc... and roll the cost into the price of the land. Its just too much.
How can the economy recover when the only thing for sale is items that people can't afford? Creative financing is gone.
Or, it might have something to do with the fact that we already have too many houses, that home prices are still falling, or that unemployed people cannot get mortgages. Hmm?
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