Strange title, I know, but read on.  An article from Bloomberg News talked about how housing woes are putting a squeeze on corporate profits.  The gist of it was that slowing home starts have reduced the demand for everything from lumber to counter tops to wiring, plumbing and other building material.  This, in turn, has lead to a drop in profits for some of the businesses making or transporting these items.

That makes me wonder...  The combination of Katrina and Rita, along with huge demand from India and China, caused the price of many building materials shoot through the roof.  Cement, lumber, copper and other materials were seeing prices climb dramatically.  The other thing that rose was the price of petroleum related products including gasoline and diesel, which raised transportation costs for building material.  One result was a dramatic increase in new home prices in certain areas.

That was then.  Now we are seeing a slump in the housing market as a whole in the U.S.  As demand for some material drops, will prices drop?  If prices drop, will builders pass on the reduction to buyers?    If prices of new homes drop, will sales jump a bit?  That is the real question!