(Photo: AP)BERLIN, Md.- New national numbers are providing a gloomy outlook for the housing market.
The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday released data detailing a 10.6 percent drop in new homes in April. Compared to the same time last year, the number is down 23 percent. The seasonally adjusted rate comes to more than 500,000 homes per year. Economists consider 1 million homes to be an indicator of a healthy building economy.
John Kotoski, president of the Eastern Shore Building Industry Association, said that in the past three years, membership in his organization dropped 20 percent, reflecting a drop in business around Delmarva. But he has high hopes for a rebound.
"I think people have been sitting and at some point it's going to break free," Kotoski said. "(National homebuilders) claim people have been sitting on the sidelines so long, that now they're ready to go."
Each home built creates around three jobs annually and generates about $90,000 in taxes.
A national survey showed homebuilder sentiment remained at 16. A reading below 50 indicates pessimism about the market.
(Information from this story also came from the Associated Press.)
