Economics
Home Starts Weaken as Dollar Fails to Hold Value Versus Real Estate
- Despite population growth of 17% since 1999, home starts down
- U.S. dollar has collapsed versus real estate, down by half
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This morning’s report on single-family housing starts, which came in at the slowest pace in over two years, highlights the effect of the U.S. dollar’s failure to hold its value versus real estate.
At a 758,000 annualized pace in December, single-family housing starts haven’t been this low since the 719,000 seen in August of 2016. Still, while starts have risen from their millennium-low of 353,000 seen in March of 2009, they remain under the 957,000 average since 1999.