Several of England’s largest residential contractors noted that orders for new houses dropped 50% in the last six weeks compared to last year. Stewart Baseley of the Home Builders Federation stated in The Economist that, “The market just fell off a cliff.”

It seems tightened credit has made home buying more difficult in Europe and America. In some areas, developers simply overbuilt for market demand, as well, which further depresses new home starts. Though the talk about global housing crash seems to be more talk then reality.

I don’t hear about any construction markets that have really crashed. We seem to be experiencing the normal ups and downs of the market.