Housing starts on a graph, or more evidence that we’re due for a new paradigm
Posted May 26, 2009 in Living Sustainably
Wow. And note that the steep decline in new housing construction started in early 2006, well before the recession set in almost two years later. Well, I guess we already knew that.
What I didn't know before I tracked down this graph (as reported by Agora Financial's web forecast manager Ian Mathias) was that "Housing starts in April fell 12.8%, to an annual rate of 458,000, the worst since at least 1959, when the government started keeping track. Applications for building permits fell to a record low as well."
The mention of 1959 is intriguing, because that era was the beginning of suburban sprawl, and just before the Interstate Highway System and a decade or more of high-profile urban chaos brought it to full flower. That was the dawn of a new paradigm of development in this country.
Are we at another dawn of another paradigm? The signs, which I have been reporting for a while (e.g., here) are manifest. Mathieu Helie certainly thinks so. I am increasingly persuaded to agree.
Kaid Benfield writes (almost) daily about community, development, and the environment. For more posts, see his blog's home page.
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Comments
Dave Reid — May 26 2009 05:01 PM
I hope it is the start of a new trend, but I'm afraid enough of our policies are still pushing suburban growth over growth of our cities.
Kaid @ NRDC — May 27 2009 09:03 AM
I can't argue with that, unfortunately, but what is especially impressive to me is how many signs of change are occurring despite those policies.