Margot Carmichael Lester
Staff Writer
It’s all doom, gloom and pestilence if the latest housing data from the National Association of Homebuilders is to be believed.
Overall housing starts for October declined 4.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 791,000 units – and 38 percent less than October 2007’s 1,182,000 units. That’s the slowest pace on record since the U.S. government began tracking housing data in 1959.
The picture was no better in our neck of the woods, according to figures from the Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange & Chatham counties.
â€Through the end of October 2008, single-family detached housing starts are down 39 percent compared to the 12 months ending [in] 2007,†says Nick Tennyson, the association’s executive vice president.
“We finally got to the point where the issues that had been affecting the rest of the country began affecting us,†he says. As a result of the mortgage and foreclosure crises, “builders that would have five or 10 spec houses under way went to zero.†But, he says, things may be looking up. “I just heard last week from a builder who sold five houses, so the market still has activity,†he notes. “I think we’ve gotten to the bottom.â€
That’s why Tennyson is bullish on the area housing market.
“People should avoid buying into the “there’s no money†mentality,†he says. “There are a whole lot of people who want to help you figure out how to make a purchase, from builders to mortgage lenders to real estate agents. Especially if you’re looking to buy in Orange County, it seems to me that now is the time.â€