Housing Starts Lowest Since March 2005
April 18, 2006 — Builders started work last month on the smallest number of new houses in a year, as rising mortgage rates and record inventories of unsold homes discouraged new projects. Housing starts declined 7.8 percent in March to an annual rate of 1.96 million, from 2.126 million in February, the Commerce Department said…
April 18, 2006 — Builders started work last month on the smallest number of new houses in a year, as rising mortgage rates and record inventories of unsold homes discouraged new projects. Housing starts declined 7.8 percent in March to an annual rate of 1.96 million, from 2.126 million in February, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Building permits, a sign of future construction, fell 5.5 percent to an annual rate of 2.059 million from 2.179 million. “It’s clear that the housing market is cooling,” Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, in Holland, Pennsylvania, said before the report. “There are areas of the country where we are going to see pretty sharp declines in construction and in housing prices.”
U.S. Housing Starts Fall 7.8% in March [Bloomberg]
2:54,
Absolute real estate values may not fall out of bed like stock prices but after subracting holding costs like maintenance, utilities, annual taxes, etc. that you don’t have with stocks, your net gain can.
“I just didn’t get the sense that the ‘locals’ could support the prices in the market. Sure there’s a large financial district in miami but nothing compared to nyc. I think the difference between florida and nyc is that the ‘locals’ can support the current market.”
I am not from Florida but have read that it’s really bad down there now.
I disagree, though, that the locals can support this market here. That assumes that most people in NYC can afford something over 700K (and I’m saying “afford” as in “don’t have to leverage their lives to the hilt” to do it). I’m not arguing that there’s not a lot of money here, but really, not everyone is that well off. This market may not be quite the level of crazy of Florida, but it doesn’t seem to me to be as justified as you think. For example, since it’s discussed a lot here, would most people be able to afford a brownstone if they didn’t have any rental income? Or buy a new condo with a regular old 15 or 30 year loan? I don’t know but I just don’t think NY is as flush with real cash as everyone assumes.
that’s okay…needed to get back to work anyway
Hey brownstoner, what happened to Anon 11:23 AM’s post? Either I’m hallucinating again or yer making me out to be the nut that I really am :]
Old trading adage: “sell when you can, not when you have to.” Though real estate values do not fall out of bed like stock prices, it’s still holds true…
Anon 01:56 PM, just curious, how bad is it in florida
I almost bought a ocean-front condo in aventura (ft. lauderdale) last year. Was high up on the ‘waiting’ list for a pre-condo conversion. But found out a day before the ‘open house’ that the waiting list was no longer valid and that it was a free for all. People were camping out overnight to get in on the ‘deal’. I sort of reminded me of the conversion deals in nyc. The apts. were spectacular but I’m glad that I got turned off and walked away.
I had a basic problem reconciling the price of the apts with the local economy. None of it made sense. Sure, there was a lot of ‘celebrity’ buyers looking to invest in a vacation home, and there were a lot of ‘south american’/international buyers but I still had an uneasy feeling about the glut of condo’s that were being developed.
I just didn’t get the sense that the ‘locals’ could support the prices in the market. Sure there’s a large financial district in miami but nothing compared to nyc. I think the difference between florida and nyc is that the ‘locals’ can support the current market.
Coming from Florida things are starting to look really bad, do not get involved investing down there for a while people are in over there heads big time.
I second 12:29 regarding brokers and townhouses. And in Brownstone Brooklyn, with no multiple listing service, any serious buyer is forced to deal with many, many (sometimes awful) brokers; one doesn’t have the luxury of NOT looking at the NY Times or even Craiglist regularly. So they will likely see FSBO listings and pursue them if interested.