Housing Starts, Building Permits At 12-Year Low

[Purveyor]

Source: Providence Business News

WASHINGTON – U.S. housing starts and building permits both declined last month to a 12-year low, lagging analyst expectations, according to a joint report issued today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Builders broke ground on new dwellings in August at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.307 million units per year, a 2.6-percent decline from July’s revised annual rate of 1.367 million and a 19.1-percent decline from the revised August 2006 rate of 1.646 million.

The new rate was well below the 1.35 million median forecast from a Bloomberg News survey of 77 economists. (Their estimates ranged from 1.24 million units per year to 1.40 million.)

Building permits for privately-owned housing also fell, indicating the slump is likely to continue. Permits were issued in August at a rate of 1.307 million per year, a 5.9-percent decline from July’s revised rate of 1.389 million permits per year and a 24.5-percent decline from the August 2006 rate of 1.731 million.



Read more: http://www.pbn.com/stories/27466.html

[cliss]

1. Getting ready for some changes ahead.

Still, you have to admit 1,307 million building permits is not exactly an economy in its death throes. That's actually quite a bit.

But then you have to wonder: what will happen to these properties once they are finished? Can the builder sell these things? (or more likely) what are they thinking?

It really makes me wonder about which banks even LEND money to these builders. When they know what's coming.

[Systematic Chaos]

2. Going around Vegas on the bus I've been noticing something.

There are empty lots in several locations that I've seen where the fence is covered over with signs promoting the grand opening of new high-rise condos. Only problem is that some of these were supposed to be completed earlier this year, yet there is no sign of any ongoing construction anywhere. One of these sites even had an abandoned building which was apparently being used as a sales office.

[Tempest]

3. Same thing here in Bakersfield, CA

Lots of property with started development that hasn't been touched in months.

This weekend's newspaper had an article about how the number of unfinished developments is rapidly increasing.

[the other one]

4. As I understand it, there was never supposed to be

A lot of land in vegas was purchased to drive up the price of other land in the area; the condo projects were never intended to go forward.