One U.S. media headline stated “…Housing Starts Remain Unchanged…”, yet when you read the article it actually admits that construction starts, for March 2012, have declined by 5.8%.
The overall decline was led by a 16.9% drop in construction of multifamily homes.
Construction reps blame the bad economy caused by the too big to fail banks not wanting to lend money to the working class: “…builders remain very cautious about starting new projects until they see more actual sales materializing. At the same time, in places where buyers are ready to go forward with a purchase, access to credit for both builders and buyers and difficulties in obtaining accurate appraisals are persistent challenges that continue to slow that process considerably.”-Barry Rutenberg, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
Another article pointed out that March is the second straight month with such a big drop in housing construction projects. It was also not expected by the economic “experts”!
So what’s the real info? According to the April 17, 2012, Joint Release U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development PDF, March 2012 housing starts are 5.8% down from February, yet up 10.3% from March 2011. So; a drop from month prior, an increase from year prior.