By John Galt
June 19, 2011
I first wish to thank my readers for their patience as the website has undergone several transitions over the past few weeks along with my personal schedule which has kept me somewhat silent with regards to posts on economic data and working away from my readers who I missed dearly. With that behind me, let’s look forward by reviewing the monthly data dump from the Census Bureau.
I. Housing Starts
Finally, again, we can blame the weather. Shockingly the good weather May generally brings across the nation was ignored as a factor in the improvement in housing starts but upon reflection, the information reveals that this is nothing more than a seasonal bounce; the same seasonal bounce experienced since the start of the real estate depression.
II. Permits
The bounce in permits was accurately reported by the mainstream financial media as in increase in permits for multi-family housing as single family permits remain mired at historically low levels:
III. Under Construction
The truth is told in these numbers which bounced mildly after downward revisions for prior months indicating that the true state of the construction industry in America is as bad as it may have ever been since the Great Depression of the 1930′s. Until the government extracts itself from the housing market, look for these numbers to continue to indicate nothing more than bounces along a long term bottom for at least another decade.
Recent Comments