Housing Continues to Struggle

 

The decline undoubtedly reflects the winding down of the first-time home buyer tax credit and August represents the last month in which a home builder could hope to start construction on a house that could be completed in time for settlement by Nov. 30, the end date to qualify for the first-time home buyer tax credit.
Courtesy of Mortgage Advice - Credit Advice

Most of the news from the housing sector of late has been good, but it must be kept in perspective.

While August total housing starts of 598,000 (at a seasonally adjusted, annual rate) -- up 1.5 percent from July's 589,000 -- starts were down 30 percent from August 2008 and were just a third of the nation's long-term trend needs of roughly 1.8 million starts a year.