A Look at New Home Starts
Posted by Crystal Olenbush on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 9:03pm.
When compared to other housing markets across the country, Austin has managed to remain one of healthiest. Nonetheless, the troubled economy and the struggling housing market have certainly taken a toll on the Austin real estate market as well. In fact, the Austin Board of Realtors reports that home sales in the Austin area fell a whopping 40% in November of 2008 when compared to the November sales for 2007.
Not only have home sales hit a downward spiral in the Austin market, a study recently conducted by research firm Metrostudy found that new home starts have also been falling and will continue to fall. In 2007, the Austin market enjoyed seeing 12,400 new home starts. In 2008, this number fell to just 8,000 home starts. If current trends hold true, Metrostudy predicts another 25% drop to occur in 2009, which means the area can expect to see only 6,000 new home starts this year.
On the bright side, a decline in new home construction should give some relief to the resale housing market.