America’s big new homes for sale slowdown…

October 23, 2008 by OPPE News

America could see a decline in the number of new homes for sale following a slowdown in development starts.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said US Commerce Department figures show housing starts have declined 6.3 per cent recently.

This is the slowest building pace since 1991, the association said, and equates to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000 units.

NAHB chief economist David Seiders said the numbers were “not surprising” in light of falling prices and other factors.

The group’s chairman, Sandy Dunn, said:

“Builders are doing all they can to bring supply and demand back into balance by limiting new production and offering substantial incentives to prospective buyers.

“Unfortunately, the heavy toll that today’s financial market woes are taking on consumer confidence is a major impediment to getting housing back on track as an engine of economic growth.”

Dunn added additional help from the government could be needed to help restart the pace of new homes for sale transactions.

More detailed September figures show the north east and west each posted double-digit declines with starts of 21 percent and 16.8 per cent respectively.

In contrast, the mid west and south each posted small gains, of 5.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.