Quarterly housing starts forecast - Brief Article

Home Channel News, Feb 5, 2001

National and regional quarterly housing starts history and one-year forecast. Figures are in millions of units at seasonally adjusted annual rates. Data for third-quarter 2000 are estimates; subsequent data are forecasts.

Mini recovery on the horizon After 18 months of tightening monetary policy, the recent relaxation in mortgage rates will lead to a small recovery in housing markets during 2001, but not a typical booming rebound. Affordability problems are no longer dominated by the lending rate but by small gains in household incomes and a sagging consumer confidence level. Financial services are retrenching and bonuses will be down for many. The Midwest bears the largest share of the current economic slowdown as manufacturing has been one of the few markets to post actual declines rather than just slower growth.

Source: FHFB, National Association of Realtors, Department of Commerce, BMRI