Housing Starts Lowest Since 1982: HOUSING STARTS
Home builders began work on fewer houses in April than in any month since October 1982, when the nation was in the depths of a severe recession, the Commerce Department reoorted vesterdav.</br></br>Monthly housing starts, the number of homes on which builders broke ground, offer clues about the health of the real estate industry and the national economy. From March to April, housing starts fell 5.8 percent, registering sharp declines in every region of the nation except the Midwest.</br></br>Experts speculated that the Washington area real estate market probably did no better than the national average.</br></br>ÛÏBuilding is continuing in this area, but with a number of new homes completed sitting empty and available for sale, and the size of the inventory of existing home listings, I think builders would be very cautious here,Û said Richard W. Peach, deputy chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.</br></br>Last month, the rate of housing starts came to an annualized 1.2 million units after adjustment for seasonal variations. ...........