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More Hard Times Predicted For Housing Industry

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May 26, 2008 2:05 am US/Pacific

More Hard Times Predicted For Housing Industry

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Experts are predicting a slow comeback for the real-estate industry.

Sellers are facing the most brutal climate in decades, as falling prices, a slumping economy and rising foreclosures combine for the perfect economic housing storm.

Construction is expected to drop to the slowest pace since the 40s and prices are expected to decline by the largest amount since the Great Depression.

Hardest hit are the states where sales boomed the most: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and parts of the Northeast. In the Midwest, shrinking jobs in the auto industry make homes even harder to sell.

The National Association of Realtors says 46 states saw sales decline in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year. The state with the biggest drop was Maryland, down nearly 39 percent from a year ago.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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