The March 1 issue of Springfield Business Journal featured a series of guest columns entitled “Forging Ahead: Economic Outlook 2010.” The series included perspectives all major sectors of the local economy with analysis regarding what to expect from their sectors and industries in 2010. Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield CEO Matt Morrow wrote the outlook column on the topic of the area’s residential construction sector.
Housing: Group forecasts 28 percent hike in U.S. housing starts
By Matt Morrow
Guest Columnist
The news was sobering at the National Association of Home Builders’ annual International Builders Show in Las Vegas earlier this year. Nationwide, fewer homes – 571,000 – were built in 2009 than in any year since World War II.
The good news, however, was that 2009 likely was the bottom of what has become a painful downward economic spiral.
In 2010, NAHB is projecting a 28 percent increase in new home construction…