2010 has second-lowest housing starts in half a century

Last year was the second-worst for home construction in the past 50 years, indicating that Americans weren't ready or able to hire moving services and relocate to a new home, according to the Associated Press.

Home builders broke ground on 587,600 homes in 2010, slightly better than the 554,000 started in 2009, but still one of the worst years for home starts since 1959. There is no indication that the pace is going to step up anytime soon, as the Commerce Department announced that construction on a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 529,000 new residences began in December, a 4.3 percent decline from November.

"Today's data show that the housing market is still very volatile from month to month," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in a statement.

Housing starts average about one million units a year in a healthy economy, said the news agency. Builders constructed twice that amount during the peak of the housing boom in 2005, but since then starts have dwindled.

A recent survey from the National Association of Home Builders found that builders do not expect the industry to improve in the near future. Builder confidence has remained at a low Housing Market Index of 16 for three consecutive months, indicating the economy needs to turn around before any major construction starts are taken up.
 

More News