Starts Fall to Another Multiyear Low

Construction of new one-to-four family homes fell to an annualized rate of just 531,000 units in October with the nation's largest homebuilding trade group describing the market as a crisis situation. According to figures compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the results were the lowest since 1959. The previous low was January 1991. Compared to the same month in 2007, starts fell by 40%. The sequential decline was a more modest 3.3%. "The housing downturn has already cost America three million jobs in construction and related industries, and this downward momentum cannot be stemmed without substantive government intervention," said NAHB's new chief economist David Crowe. Not surprisingly, NAHB's Builder Confidence index now stands at its lowest level since January 1985 when the trade group first launched the measurement. Multifamily starts fell to 247,000 units during the month, a 30% decline from a year ago.