Housing starts slow to a trickle, Wake Forest (Cary: budget, apartments)

[dansdrive]

Per the Wake Forest Gazette the housing starts in Wake Forest has slowed to a 'trickle' and according to the article it is attributed to the ongoing drought. I wonder if other areas around the triangle are seeing such a slowdown. The article has some details on the fall of new home permits over the last couple of years coming off their peak in 2004. It is pretty significant. Far more than I would have thought. Wake Forest was booming but has slowed according to this article.

The Wake Forest Gazette - Editor Carol Pelosi - Wake Forest News, Weather and Sports - Wake Forest Events - -Wake Forest, NC

[saturnfan]

Let's all hope this trend becomes permanent.

Capital Blvd is already very overloaded by the growth of WF.

[KCfromNC]

I've heard the same story from several builders in west Cary. A year ago (or even 6 months ago) they were working on 3 or 4 spec homes at a time in addition to the pre-sales. Now they're just doing one at a time as inventory is sitting.

I'm skeptical this is related to the drought. It's a nationwide trend - Housing starts up, permits down in January - Feb. 20, 2008.

New construction of single-family homes fell to a 17-year low in January, according to a government report on the battered housing market released Wednesday.

At the same time, a pickup in apartments and condo construction resulted in a rare gain for housing starts overall.

Starts of single-family homes fell to an annual rate of 743,000 in the tenth straight monthly decline.

The level of single-family home building is down 5 percent from December, 34% from a year earlier and 60% from the record high reached only two years ago.

[saturnfan]

Originally Posted by KCfromNC

I've heard the same story from several builders in west Cary. A year ago (or even 6 months ago) they were working on 3 or 4 spec homes at a time in addition to the pre-sales. Now they're just doing one at a time as inventory is sitting.

I'm skeptical this is related to the drought. It's a nationwide trend - Housing starts up, permits down in January - Feb. 20, 2008.

I agree. The housing market was overheated by investors and unwise lending practices. It needs to cool down in a big way so working folks can find places to live within their budgets.

You simply can't price a product beyond the customer's budget and keep a sustainable market going.

[dansdrive]

Originally Posted by KCfromNC

I've heard the same story from several builders in west Cary. A year ago (or even 6 months ago) they were working on 3 or 4 spec homes at a time in addition to the pre-sales. Now they're just doing one at a time as inventory is sitting.

I'm skeptical this is related to the drought. It's a nationwide trend - Housing starts up, permits down in January - Feb. 20, 2008.

I was surprised by the depth of the downturn. I knew things slowed up a bit but in Wake Forest it seemed to be still growing at a good rate. From a housing perspective this shows that is not the case. Uninformed view on my part I guess. The nation wide slowdown in housing and the economy has come to little Ole Wake Forest too!

[saturnfan]

Thank Heaven before it is destroyed and has no quality of life.

[rnc2mbfl]

Originally Posted by KCfromNC

I've heard the same story from several builders in west Cary. A year ago (or even 6 months ago) they were working on 3 or 4 spec homes at a time in addition to the pre-sales. Now they're just doing one at a time as inventory is sitting.

I'm skeptical this is related to the drought. It's a nationwide trend - Housing starts up, permits down in January - Feb. 20, 2008.

Good! More people living in apartments and condos means less sprawl which means fewer roads constructed, fewer miles driven and more efficient use of our resources. If you believe what is written in Christopher B. Leinberger's new book: "The Option of Urbanism, Investing in a New American Dream", the future holds an ugly reality for those buying houses on the fringe. He explains in his book how millions upon millions of homes on the fringes will be white elephants in the future as urban areas attract more and more residents.

[saturnfan]

I have heard this too, especially with high gas prices.

[mayhurst]

It would nice to be judged as a person, rather than assuming that everyone moving into the Triangle has nothing to contribute to life there. We are looking at the area because we feel it reflects the values we hold. Your post, however, runs counter to what I thought people were like there.

[saturnfan]

No disrespect intended, believe me.

Many of us are average working folks and don't want to be pushed out of our areas because of an escalation in prices, rents, traffic, and taxes brought about by a change in the economic demographics of the area.