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Bad Housing Signs Bode Ill for 2011
Washignton Examiner
January 19, 2011
by John C. Weicher
December's housing starts left a lump of coal in the housing industry's stocking, rounding out a dismal year. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 in December was the lowest rate of the year, down 8.2 percent from November; and the 2010 total of 587,000 starts was slightly better than 2009 (554,000) but lower than any other year since World War II.
An increase in apartment construction in December was more than offset by a drop of 14.2 percent in new homes, from a November rate of 458,000 to a December rate of 417,000 -- also the lowest of the year. Unfortunately, two very bad years in a row have not made a substantial dent in the overhang of unsold homes, which is not a good omen for 2011.
Senior Fellow John C. Weicher is Director of the Center for Housing and Financial Markets at Hudson Institute. From 2001-2005 he was Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Tags - Click a tag for related material
Economics, Housing, Housing MarketShare