New Housing Permits only 37% of 2005 Levels

The credit market crisis alone, which started with last summer’s subprime mortgage meltdown and has since resulted in a broad-based mortgage credit crunch for prospective home buyers, has depressed housing sector activity by an additional 30%, National Association Home Builders economists calculate. As a result, housing permits nationwide have plunged to only 37% of their levels at the height of the boom in 2005