It really shouldn't come as too big of a surprise, but today's release of housing starts for May show another tough month. The subprime mortgage woes continue to weigh on lenders, who have been seriously cutting back on loan approvals for new home buyers, and who can really blame them? As Jonathan Berr wrote last week, foreclosures have been rising -- with May seeing a jump of 90% -- and show no signs of slowing.

So, given the current mortgage situation, it was not a shocker to see another month of weak home starts. Last month saw a 2.1 percent drop in construction of new homes and apartments. This is what analysts had been expecting to see, and represented the weakest month since January. We now see construction levels a pretty amazing 24.2 percent below this time last year.

If you are crossing your fingers and hoping to see construction numbers rise over the next couple of months, I wouldn't. Things are pointing to even worse numbers moving forward. Builder sentiment is now running at the lowest rate it has been at during the past 16 years. In May the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index was sitting at 30, and analysts were expecting to see that level hold this month, but that was not to be. After a 2 point drop down to 28 we are at a point where we haven't been since way back in February of 1991 when the index dipped down to a measly 27.

While the picture is not looking good, once again, this is nothing new or shocking. We have known for a while that the market was weak and foreclosures were on the rise, and lower construction is just the natural reaction to what is going on in the marketplace. As more people find themselves struggling to keep up with their mortgages, more and more houses are going to hit the market, and at lower prices than we have seen in recent years.