New home construction slowed to a virtual standstill in January as builders recognize the almost non-existent market for new homes, and flood of foreclosures on the market. The Commerce Department reported new home construction dropping 16.8 percent to the slowest pace on records dating back a half-century.
All of the major builders cited tightened lending standards and employment uncertainty as reason that buyers are staying out of the market.
At the same time, planned development of vacant land in many cities is frozen. In Chicago, several large tracts were scheduled for development of major commercial projects, which are not on hold indefinitely. A developer had indicated an interest to transform a vacant retail store into a mixed use building, but withdrew when the economy began to weaken. “Until the economy turns around, I don’t know if you’ll see much in the way of mixed use going on,” Mayor Ken Nelson said. The suburb of Oak Forest saw vacancy of 
centralized “auto rows” , leaving behind 8 acres of concrete where car dealerships once operated.
When Courtesy Chevrolet closed in Thousand Oaks CA, it left behind not only an empty showroom but almost 80 employees unemployed. The store had been a fixture in the city for 40 years. Nearby Van Nuys lost 300 jobs when wheel maker Superior industries closed its plant around the same time.
The description of the once booming area is now “an increasingly bleak landscape”, dotted with For Lease signs.
