One of the problems that is emerging as foreclosures take their toll on the housing market is the glut of supply on the market. Indeed, there are so many "extra" homes out there right now that home builders have slowed in terms of building homes. MarketWatch reports that housing starts in May represented a rather dramatic low:
Housing starts fell 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 975,000 in May, the lowest level since March 1991. Starts of single-family homes fell 1% to an annual rate of 674,000, also the lowest in 17 years, but the smallest monthly decrease in a year.
To me, though, it is interesting to note how extremely local real estate is. While there are large swaths of the country that are having housing market troubles, my little out of the way corner of Utah is booming. Housing starts are just as frequent as always, and people are buying homes as they are being built. In the last six months, four homes have been built -- and bought -- on my street in a developing area. And a whole street is being put in, just so that it can be lined with homes.
And buying a home isn't a great deal here, either. Home values continue to rise. But that doesn't mean the party will go on forever. Here's the question: Am I in a stable place where the housing market troubles won't come, or is this isolated mountain valley in Utah going to be late to the party?
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