The Commerce Department said today that housing starts climbed 1.5% to an annual rate of 699,000 units. Initial estimates for housing starts can be subject to large revisions and the government revised the December reading significantly higher to a 689,000-unit rate.
It’s Obama’s fault.
Now look at housing starts plotted against Housing completions. OOPS!
Where did they go?
Interesting the downfall started in 2006.
It had to start sometime.
The bubble had been underway since at least 1995 when the stupid lending started.
I know of several new houses in my area that were started and not finished. These houses are just a weather tight shell and are waiting to be finished once they sell.
A couple of them have been on the market for quite some time, 6-8 months.
I wonder if this is a new trend?
Sorry Nick but I don’t trust numbers that GovCo throws out there…they are constantly massaging the numbers… housing is not even close to starting up. My business partners just got back from the International Builders Show in Florida…they spoke with G’sC all over the US and they all say the same thing… economy is no where close to starting up although there are small pockets here and there that are not hit as hard…much that had to do with the tighter lending policies of the local lenders…while they did not make the $$$$ their competition did during the boom, they are financially solid but more importantly their communities are stable.
Our construction business is blessed simply because we diversified (more commercial) and are taking of projects that we typically would not have messed with in the past…and while the profits are nothing like they were its just a matter of surviving until the economy truly does turn…but rest assure that will be at least 5 years.
I have not really looked at what the exact percentages of my inspections are foreclosures and short sales but without a doubt it is at least 50% if not more…that in itself is a true economical indicator of your local area…when it gets back to less than 10% then I will say our area has truly recovered.
regards
Jeff