U.S. Economy: Housing Fell as End of Credit Loomed
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Housing starts were projected to rise to a 600,000 annual pace, according to the median forecast of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates ranged from 570,000 to 630,000. The government revised September’s reading to a 592,000 pace from a previously reported 590,000.
Building permits, a sign of future construction, dropped to a 552,000 annual pace last month from 575,000. They were forecast to climb to a 580,000 annual rate, according to the survey median.
Mortgage Applications
Another report today showed mortgage applications to purchase houses fell last week to the lowest level since November 1997. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of applications dropped 4.7 percent in the week ended Nov. 13.
Obama and Congress this month extended a tax credit of as much as $8,000 for first-time homebuyers until April 30, from Nov. 30. They also expanded it to include some current owners.
Construction of single-family houses, which last month accounted for 90 percent of the market, decreased 6.8 percent to a 476,000 rate, today’s report showed. Work on multifamily homes, such as townhouses and apartment buildings, plunged 35 percent to an annual rate of 53,000 that was the lowest since records began in 1959.
[Modificato da pax2you 18/11/2009 22:56]