July Dip in Home Building Nationwide

Construction of new homes in the U.S. grew for three months in a row until July when it dipped by 1% to an annual rate of 581,000 properties according to the Commerce Department. This is evidence that the recovery of the housing market remains weak.

Prices also fell .9% since June and 6.8% in comparison to July last year. The fall in new home construction was led by apartments which dropped at an annual rate of 13%.

Many analysts have pointed to fear of job loss as an explanation why many people are putting off the purchase of a new home. Inability to get the loans needed for a home must also be a significant factor. With the nation's jobless rate up to 9.5% as of June, these concerns are no surprise.

As for Maui, condo sales levelled off in July with 69 sales as opposed to 63 sales in July of last year. The median price of a condo was $350,000 in July this year, which is 39% lower than last year's $575,000. Home prices were down 13% since July of last year, with only 57 sales in July of this year as opposed to 97 last year.

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