Housing market is barely breathing

12.16.08- The housing market is barely breathing. According to Marketwatch.com, housing starts plunged 47% in the past year, down 73% from the housing bubble’s frothiest days. And building permits plummeted 48% in the past year, off 72% from the peak of real estate lunacy. There’s still a glut of unsold McMansions, and foreclosures are rising. [...]