News Article From: 11-20-2006
The article, Construction of housing falls to lowest rate since "00, from the Arizona Republic, reports that housing construction of single-family homes and apartments fell 14.6 percent in October to an annual rate of 1.486 million units, the slowest pace since July 2000. Building permits fell 6.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.535 million units, the slowest pace in nine years. "A tornado hit the housing sector in October," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors,a private forecasting firm. "Builders have seen the light from the housing market meltdown and are now moving as rapidly as possible to reduce supply." With inventories of unsold new and existing homes near record levels, many analysts said the slump was likely to last for many months, possibly until the middle of next year. However, some analyst found hints of a turnaround. A monthly survey of builder sentiment conducted by the National Association of Home Builders was up in November for the second straight month, the first back to back gains since mid 2005.
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