Not spreading the wealth around: New housing starts plummet 10% in April

How’s that Hope ‘n Change cocktail working out?

New home construction tumbled in April, the government said Tuesday, as the nation’s housing market remains weak.

Housing starts, the number of new homes being built, fell 10.6% in April to an annual rate of 523,000 units, down from a revised 585,000 in March, the Commerce Department said.

Economists had expected an annual rate 563,000 units, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.

The report also said there were 551,000 building permits issued in April. That’s down 4% from 574,000 permits in March, and was also fewer than expected.

Couple that with the steep decline in existing home values that we (unexpectedly!) hit during 2011’s first quarter and you have a terrible housing market. What is the Obama administration’s solution? Push more subprime loans in the name of social engineering. All that’s likely to do is cause yet more mortgage defaults and chaos.