New home sales in the U.S. have plummeted to a pace not seen since 1991, and prices are at 2004 levels, USA Today reported November 26, 2008. 

"The Commerce Department reported [November 25, 2008] that new-home sales decreased 5.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 433,000 homes, the lowest level since January 1991, another period when the country was undergoing a steep housing downturn."

New home sales are now 40.1 percent below where they were a year ago.

The median price in the U.S. of a new home sold in October fell to $218,000, down 7 percent from a year ago. It was the lowest median sales price since September 2004.

Of course, these numbers don't have much relevance in Massachusetts because new construction of single-family homes is a tiny percentage of the entire country's new home construction. There just is not that much available land in the Bay State.

The national new construction numbers do reflect the current economy in the U.S.

Read The USA Today Article