Housing Starts Fell 28.6% in '07

Single-family housing starts dropped 28.6% in 2007 compared with those of the previous year, including a 2.9% decline in construction activity during the final month of the year. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that single-family housing starts declined from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 818,000 in November to 794,000 in December. The bureau revised the November number downward by 11,000 starts. The year-end numbers show that builders started construction on 1.05 million single-family homes in 2007, down from 1.47 million in 2006. The National Association of Home Builders forecast calls for another 23% decline in starts this year as builders struggle to sell off a historically high number of newly built and vacant homes. The government also reported that multifamily starts plunged 41% in December to 196,000 units. For the year, multifamily starts totaled 275,000, down only 6% from the level recorded in 2006.