The worst US housing downturn since World War II is likely to deepen further this year, with no broad recovery until at least 2010, according to a consensus of building-industry economists.

Single-family-housing starts, which fell 40% to 617,000 in 2007, are expected to drop to about 441,000 this year -- the lowest since records have been kept -- according to the economic outlook of the National Association of Home Builders released Tuesday at the International Builders Show

Wall Street Journal