July home building slips after early-summer bump

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Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. builders broke ground on fewer single-family houses in July, leaving home construction at depressed levels.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders began work on a seasonally adjusted 604,000 homes last month, a 1.5 percent decrease from June. That's half the 1.2 million homes per year that economists say must be built to sustain a healthy housing market.

Single-family homes, which represent 70 percent of home construction, fell 5 percent. Apartment building rose more than 6 percent.

Building permits, a gauge of future construction, declined 3.2 percent. Jill Brown, vice president of economics at Credit Suisse, said that decline suggests "very little forward momentum."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hDhCaF9MpoECT0NlmLqKyXMvrH5g?docId=834fbf882d1d4a90902d75ff5ae993cb

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1. Housing starts fall less than expected in July

(Reuters) - Housing starts fell less than expected in July as builders broke ground on new multifamily units likely to meet demand for rental apartments, while permits for future construction dropped.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday housing starts slipped 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000 units, but above economists expectations for a 600,000-unit pace.

The report painted a picture of a housing market that continues to bounce along the bottom, swamped by an oversupply of unsold homes. Compared to July last year, residential construction was up 9.8 percent.

"The market is continuing to adjust to a reduction in the national home ownership rate at the same time the supply of existing single-family homes remain excessive," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/16/us-usa-economy-idUSTRE77A2BR20110816

[RKP5637]

2. When we already have such a proliferation of houses why would they

expect demand to increase. If anything, we need to rebuild the rotting stock we already have as many are in disrepair now, as well as our rotting cities.

[Action]

5. For sure

My sentiments exactly.

[stlsaxman]

3. erm... hey, AP- maybe it was because July was HOTTER THAN FUCK?!?!?!?

i know manual labor in 115 F heat makes ME happy.

[Action]

4. Think about it

Maybe it's just me, but always hearing about what we buy or housing starts as a way to judge the economy seems so wasteful. There are tons of empty houses all over the country. Why can't they be made attactive to those looking for homes? As for the stuff we buy, how many of us already own enough junk?

If we got back to manufacturing instead of basing our economy on what we buy and housing starts, we would be in much better shape than we are now.

[RKP5637]

6. Yep, and much as Bush tried to place making hamburgers, etc. under the

category of manufacturing. I have never checked that out, but I've heard it before and it sounds like something he would say/want. As for junk, I go to estate sales and talk about junk.

We have enough junk already in the US to probably last us several generations. We've become a junk consuming society IMO.

We really need a major paradigm shift in the US, but I have no idea how that's going to come about.