Housing starts hit record low

Higher unemployment, tight-fisted lending and sagging consumer confidence drove the new-home market to record lows in 2008. Tampa Bay area builders started construction on 932 homes in the last quarter of 2008, crowning a crummy year in which only 4,730 homes broke ground. The previous low for annual housing starts was 4,798 in 1991, another recession year that messed up the housing market. Tampa Bay area housing starts have plummeted 73 percent since the 2006 boom year. Here's a recent yearly breakdown:

2008: 4,730

2007: 7,244

2006: 17,683

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