
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 17, 1995                   TAG: 9507170140
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

BUILDING PERMITS DIP IN MOST OF U.S.

Building permits fell in nearly all of the top 50 housing markets from January through March, demonstrating the extent of the single-family construction slump during the first quarter.

The National Association of Home Builders reported Sunday that the number of permits issued for single-family homes fell from year-earlier levels in all but three major markets - Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Sarasota, Fla.

It attributed the declines to a combination of rising mortgage rates and an economy that began to turn sluggish.

``The drop in permits in the first quarter is consistent with a general slowing of the housing market and the national economy,'' said Jim Irvine, association president and a Portland, Ore., builder.

``While we expect the market to improve somewhat from the first quarter because of falling interest rates, most metropolitan areas will experience a decline in housing activity this year compared to last year.''

But despite slower housing markets, Irvine said he does not foresee any dramatic downturns.

The Home Builders are forecasting 1.02 million single-family housing starts in 1995, down from the estimate of nearly 1.1 million as the year began. Single-family starts totaled nearly 1.20 million in 1994.

Permits fell from an annual rate of 1.42 million in December to 1.24 million in March, lowest since 1.17 million in July 1993, but since have begun to turn up. They totaled nearly 1.25 million at an annual rate in May.

The Commerce Department will provide a further look at the housing industry when it releases the June housing starts and permits data Wednesday.

Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.79 percent from January through March. They had fallen to 7.41 percent by last week, the lowest in nearly 1 1/2 years.

The economy itself grew just 2.7 percent at an annual rate during the first quarter, a little more than half the robust 5.1 percent in the final three months of 1994 and the slowest pace in 18 months.

by CNB