Pressing the Red Button

The National Association of Home Builders trade group, in a statement released today, called for help from all the king's horses and all the king's men -- well, more literally "the administration, Congress and federal regulators -- along with stakeholders in the private sector" -- to put the housing market and economy back together again.

Brian Catalde, president for the builders' trade group, said in the statement, "Today's job report jolted Wall Street, demonstrating the paramount importance of restoring consumer and investor confidence in the U.S. economy and housing market."

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that the construction industry lost 22,000 jobs in August, "with most of the loss occurring among residential specialty trade contractors. Since its most recent peak in September 2006, construction employment has fallen by 96,000."

Trade groups for home builders and Realtors have blamed the mortgage credit crunch in the for piling on pain to the slumping housing market.

Builder Hovnanian Enterprises, in a quarterly earnings report released this week, announced its fourth straight quarterly loss for the quarter ended July 31.

Ara K. Hovnanian, company president and CEO, said in a statement, "The conditions leading into this housing downturn are different from those we have seen in past slowdowns throughout the 48 years that we have been in the business."

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