| It should come as no surprise that the housing | | | | already existing unsold housing markets, there is |
| construction sector is in the tank right now. Yet, | | | | virtually no one in the market for a new home at all. |
| another tank, The Online Think Tank, estimates that it | | | | Top that off with the problem of increased loan |
| will be well into 2010 until things return to normal. | | | | application scrutiny, high down payment requirements |
| Currently, housing construction is at a 14-year low. New | | | | and credit score demands of homebuyers by lenders, |
| Housing starts are about as low as they have ever | | | | and you can see where all this is going; not up! With |
| been seen when you compare the new homes being | | | | residential real estate tanked, the banking industry |
| built against the total number of homes. | | | | under the gun, construction down, well, what else could |
| Can things get any worse? Well it just so happens | | | | go wrong? How about the spill over effect into the |
| that the answer is yes, but do recall that 14-years ago | | | | small business sector, service sector, new autos and |
| it was 1995, which was a pretty dismal year in the | | | | retail sector. Yes, all affected too, and their outlooks |
| housing sector and interest rates were very high to | | | | are not much brighter either. |
| boot. With more and more foreclosures hitting the | | | | |