New-home permits were down about 28 percent in the Chicago area in 2007 compared with the more prosperous 2006 -- and 2008 could be worse.
That was the word from a forum of eight suburban builders Friday.
Through November, 31,890 permits were issued for single-family and multi-family homes in the Chicago metropolitan area, according to the National Association of Home Builders. That is down from 44,080 in the same period of 2006.
Several builders at the forum said 2008 sales should mirror those in 2007 or drop lower.
The gloomiest prediction came from Andy Konovodoff, president of the Illinois division of Town & Country Homes, owned by K. Hovnanian Homes, based in New Jersey.
His company sold 1,230 homes in 2006, 890 in 2007 and is expecting 355 Chicago-area sales this year.
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