Notably, the housing sector has been a significant driver of recovery from most recessions in the United States since World War II, but this time – with an overhang of distressed and foreclosed properties, tight credit conditions for builders and potential homebuyers, and ongoing concerns by both potential borrowers and lenders about continued house price declines – the rate of new home construction has remained at less than one-third of its pre-crisis level.
The low level of construction has implications not only for builders but for providers of a wide range of goods and services related to housing and homebuilding.