I just found this great bit of data on The Big Picture Real Estate blog, an enjoyable read. I’ll present it here as they did, since it’s just startling (these figures cited below are just out in Sept), and REITs are still chugging upward like little engines that could.

Housing by the numbers

Housing Stat Year Over Year Change
Builders? sentiment -52.2%
New-home sales -21.6%
Purchase-mortgage applications -20.9%
Building permits -20.8%
Housing starts -13.3%
Existing-home sales -11.2%
Existing-home inventories +39.9%
New-home inventories +22.4%