housing statrs in the united states - from MSNBC , 18 march 2008 :
Quote:Compared to a year ago, housing starts were down 28.4 percent. But for single-family homes, starts were off 40.5 percent from a year ago - the largest year-over-year drop since January 1991 when they fell by 45.1 percent.
and from BUSINESSWEEK october 2007 :
Quote:At the current existing-home sales rate of 5.04 million units a year, it would take a full 10.5 months to sell the 4.4 million existing homes now on the market, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Oct. 24. The supply of existing single-family homes was at 10.2 months in September?-the highest since February, 1988. Compare that with the height of the housing boom in January, 2005, when it reached a record low 3.6 months.
it looks like it will be quite some time before canadian lumber operators will be operating anywhere near capacity - even more layoffs are likely to happen .
and a/t some business people being interviewed on CNBC this morning , it will be 2010 before they expect business to pick up again .
some luxury goods store owners said that they'll be selling off most of their inventory before re-ordering !
i think it'll be a long wait - and very unpleasant one - for many people (notice the food riots that are starting to break out in some countries ?) .
wish i had better and happier news on this subject .
hbg
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