Build more, more more! slower!

Everywhere we turn, we see new homes being built in the inner-city. Unfortunately, many of these are new homes (or townhomes, in many instances) where some historic houses and bungalows once sat. However, if the latest news in real estate holds true for the rest of the year, we may finally see a dramatic slow down in new homes being built.

The Chronicle is reporting that new home sales have fallen 18 percent in the second quarter of 2007, compared to 2Q 2006. Statistics also show that new home construction is down 17 percent in the same time period – looking around Houston, it’s hard to believe that.

Part of the reason for the slower new home sales may be due to mortgage companies being forced to become more conservative on their lending. Now that it looks like we’re going to have another record year for foreclosures, lenders are cutting back on signing subprime loans to those with very low credit ratings.

Sure, we’re somewhat happy that there’s been a slowdown on what has seemed to be excessive number of new homes being built in Houston, but we still hope people remain active in the housing buying market. We want to continue to see our own home values rise, so we can afford to upgrade to this.

Photo: flickr user jazmill7312