New Housing Starts Slow In December

February 6, 2007

The annual pace of construction spending continued its nine-month slowdown in December, falling 1.4 percent from a year ago to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.18 trillion, according to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Residential construction spending declined 12.3 percent compared with one year earlier, standing at a rate of $591 billion, while the value of nonresidential construction activity rose 12.7 percent to a rate of $586.6 billion, according to the report.

In California, data from the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) report a similar decline, with new-home construction during December falling 44 percent when compared with the construction pace recorded during December 2005. Based on the number of building permits issued, 10,652 new housing units were started throughout the state in December. While multifamily construction remained strong during the second half of 2006, single-family construction was down 31 percent for the year.

This indicates that there appears to be another shortage of housing on the horizon for California - ultimately, raising the prices even more.  It is a good time to buy real estate in San Diego.  For FREE info or listings of available properties, call me.  (619) 297-7001.

Posted in All Things San Diego, Lending, Local Business, Real Estate, Things of Interest, Thought For Today