New home construction last year in the U.S. was the lowest in 27 years, according to a recent report from the Commerce Department.
According to the report, construction was started on 1.35 million new homes in the country in 2007, down 24.8 percent from 2006. That was the second largest annual decline on record. The largest was the 26 percent decline in 1980 when the Federal Reserve was increasing interest rates to combat inflation.
Housing starts fell in the Milwaukee area as well last year building permits for duplexes and single family homes in metro Milwaukee fell 19 percent in 2007, from 2,094 in 2006 to 1,696 last year, according to data compiled by MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin Inc.
