Viewpoint: Why No New Houses May Be a Good Thing

The news that 2011 may go down as the worst year in the past 50 for construction of new homes brought out many a weeping violin. Sorry, the strings on mine must have popped.

Yes, I understand that construction jobs -- the ones that are created when builders build new homes -- are a good thing for the economy. But the dark cloud of no new houses being built may have a silver lining: No new homes means less competition for existing homeowners trying to sell.