Housing Study Says Worst Isn't Over as Local Markets Deal With Steep Drops

Wall Street Journal (06/24/08) P. D2; Hoak, Amy
The 2008 "State of the Nation's Housing" report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies indicates that the current property slump will last longer than those in the past due to the credit crunch and high foreclosure rates. Center director Nicolas Retsinas says the downturn is "the most severe that we have seen" and that rising unemployment might be "the last shoe to drop, but a pretty heavy shoe." The report reveals that local housing markets have been hit hard by declines in resales, new-home sales and residential construction.