Las Vegas real estate, mortgage, appraisal blog

The Census Bureau reported this week that housing starts nationwide in September were down more than 30 percent from September 2006.  Without a doubt this is bad news for folks who rely on housing construction for their livelihood.  But for the broader housing economy, it's great news.

Take Las Vegas' housing market.  Las Vegas housing inventory is still high especially relative to sales.  But it's decelerating, and as housing starts -- new homes which have begun construction -- fall back, an overinventory problem comes closer to being solved.

The less inventory, the better sales activity will be, and the better chance Las Vegas appraisal values will increase.  For the Las Vegas housing economy, a decline in housing starts is a good thing.