Housing Economics - 01/17/2008 (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
Housing Starts Fall Sharply In December
Quick Read: Housing Statistics
Building Permits & Employment Data Now Include 361 Metropolitan Areas
Don't Know Your Local Housing Forecast?

Housing Starts Fall Sharply In December

Total housing starts declined 14 percent in December to an annual rate of 1.006 million, the lowest level since May 1991. Contributing significantly to the overall decline was multifamily production, which plunged 45 percent over the month to a rate of 212,000; single-family output contracted by 3 percent to 794,000.

Housing Starts and Building Permits for November 2007

DATE

CURRENT

LAST

% Change

Download Starts and Permits

Starts

1/17/2008

1.006M

1.173M

- 14.2%

Permits

1/17/2008

1.068M

1.162M

- 8.1%

Total housing starts declined 14 percent in December to an annual rate of 1.006 million, the lowest level since May 1991. Multifamily production dominated the decline, plunging 45 percent over the month to a rate of 212,000; single-family output contracted by 3 percent to 794,000.

For all of 2007, total starts were down by 25 percent to 1.354 million, the largest annual decline since 1980. Building permits were also off by 25 percent between 2006 and 2007, to 1.376 million units.

NAHB related press release: "Builder Confidence Virtually Unchanged In January".

Read additional information and download data (Excel) for Housing Starts & Permits.