US housing market continues to crumble

The state of the United States’ housing market continues to deteriorate with new economic data pointing to an increasingly dire situation.

Data released by the US Commerce Department revealed US housing starts fell 15.5% in December 2008 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000.

This was 45% down on the annual starts rate recorded in December 2007 and the lowest annual rate recorded since the department began record keeping in 1959.

Home prices have also continued their downward slump, falling by 1.8% from October to November 2008 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. This brings the annual rate of decline to just under nine per cent.