There is NOTHING unexpected about this... the only major people buying right now are FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS.. there is a glut of existing homes, the nation is seeing double digit unemployment or close too it in most places.... Builders are sitting on unsold inventory, etc etc etc. Even those that could move are holding tight where they are because of the uncertainty. Anyone shocked by a drop in housing starts has been blind as a bat.
Don’t forget that the unfinished properties are units that could quickly be converted into sellable inventory or that there are a number of potential sellers out there who would put their stuff up on tha market in a heartbeat if they could.
It’s a lot worse than the morons in the media would have you believe.
I wonder if many of these “first time home buyers” are grabbing up bargains without considering the costs to own a home. Maintenance, repairs, property taxes, insurance. I know a few single women where I work who are buying their first home. I hope they have considered all the costs. I’m afraid that they are more concerned with color coordinating their walls and new furnishings they can’t to go shopping for. One was looking at ceiling fans on the Internet she wants to buy for each room the other night.