Comments on: A jump in housing starts is NOT good news for the economy… http://www.insightwriter.com/2009/03/17/a-jump-in-housing-starts-is-not-good-news-for-the-economy/ Freshly Squeezed Insight for Better Living Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:22:55 -0400 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Miami Beach condos http://www.insightwriter.com/2009/03/17/a-jump-in-housing-starts-is-not-good-news-for-the-economy/comment-page-1/#comment-1649 Miami Beach condos Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:14:23 +0000 http://www.insightwriter.com/?p=952#comment-1649 Great article Jeremy, You're right, it's the massive inventory of homes that is preventing home values from going up. The lending industry has upped its standards for loans so much that sixty percent of mortgage applications get turned down. At that rate, we'll have a huge inventory of real estate for at least five years. Great article Jeremy,
You’re right, it’s the massive inventory of homes that is preventing home values from going up. The lending industry has upped its standards for loans so much that sixty percent of mortgage applications get turned down. At that rate, we’ll have a huge inventory of real estate for at least five years.

]]> By: Kent @ The Financial Philosopher http://www.insightwriter.com/2009/03/17/a-jump-in-housing-starts-is-not-good-news-for-the-economy/comment-page-1/#comment-1630 Kent @ The Financial Philosopher Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:11:39 +0000 http://www.insightwriter.com/?p=952#comment-1630 I am not as much an economic theory person as I am an investment theory person; and hence my question: Do housing starts include both spec homes and those with qualified buyers? If home builders are building purely on speculation (homes with no buyers yet), this rise in housing starts might spell more concern, as you suggest, because of addition to supply. If a great number of these housing starts, however, represent homes with qualified buyers, especially first-time home buyers, I would personally feel more confident in the increase. The positive view is that it takes labor and building supplies to build homes and the housing sector is a significant portion of the economy. At the same time, as you mentioned, the year-over-year numbers are still quite poor. Either way, one can manipulate numbers or make headlines look any which way they choose, which is why I do not immediately buy into any information coming from a source that is paid by selling advertising (e.g. mainstream media)... "Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them." ~ Epictetus <abbr><em>Kent @ The Financial Philosopher’s last blog post..<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFinancialPhilosopher/~3/O_rJiIdD8MA/the-unknown-more-frightening-than-an-ugly-known.html" rel="nofollow">Finding Beauty in Ugliness</a></em></abbr> I am not as much an economic theory person as I am an investment theory person; and hence my question: Do housing starts include both spec homes and those with qualified buyers?

If home builders are building purely on speculation (homes with no buyers yet), this rise in housing starts might spell more concern, as you suggest, because of addition to supply. If a great number of these housing starts, however, represent homes with qualified buyers, especially first-time home buyers, I would personally feel more confident in the increase.

The positive view is that it takes labor and building supplies to build homes and the housing sector is a significant portion of the economy.

At the same time, as you mentioned, the year-over-year numbers are still quite poor. Either way, one can manipulate numbers or make headlines look any which way they choose, which is why I do not immediately buy into any information coming from a source that is paid by selling advertising (e.g. mainstream media)…

“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.” ~ Epictetus

Kent @ The Financial Philosopher’s last blog post..Finding Beauty in Ugliness

]]>