Housing construction drops 12.8 percent in April
WASHINGTON -- Housing construction plunged to a record low in April as a steep drop in apartment building offset a rebound in single-family construction.
The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments fell 12.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, the lowest pace on records going back a half-century.
Economists had expected home construction to post a modest increase in April as a sign that the worst collapse in housing activity in the post-World War II period was drawing to a close.
Reader Reactions
The balance of new and pre-owned home inventory has got to come down before we can start building again. New construction dropping is a good thing, it must happen to bring real demand again.
Plus, my guess is that everyone who can afford or qualify for a home, has one.
We’ve got plenty of houses. When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.
... or maybe there are fewer new homes being built because of the large number of pre-existing homes on the market at bargain rates? I guess we’ll find out on the 27th, when they release those figures.
This is no surprise, unfortunately. But when your government passes a $780 billion “pork” package (ineptly named “stimulus”) without even reading it, the results speak for themselves. The worst is yet to come, I fear, because all that “stimulus” doesn’t help the building industry or the home finance markets destroyed by Barney Frank and Co. over the last 15 years. It merely created more government with no oversight or way to repay the debt it caused. HOW’S THAT STIMULUS GOING FOR ‘YA, all you Obammer worshippers.
gqrich: Why are jobs being outsourced? Tax policy is making doing business in the U.S. too expensive. Why do you think Chrysler will IMPORT cars made in China? As for the rest of your post, you said exactly what I said - uncertainty—and it goes back to whether the government realizes it is destroying business and jobs in this country with its tax policies.
This has nothing to do with either taxation or government policy. It has to do with job security. As companies continue to outsource American jobs overseas and as they continue to shed jobs no one is willing to buy a home or move out of their parent’s house into an apartment until they have a sense of job security again.
Not good. A lot of small builders and subcontractors have been treading water hoping the summer will keep them afloat. They’ll be out of work soon if things don’t turn around. Government policy and taxation is making people reign in spending because they don’t know what the future holds. Does anybody in Washington understand?
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