The Wall Street Journal surveyed a number of economists, and most answered that the housing industry was the biggest disappointment.
Housing starts did not meet the forecasted 1.11 million from earlier this year. Instead, starts will total around 1.05 million. According to Wall Street Journal blogger Kathleen Madigan, the shortfall in housing is one reason why the U.S. economy “will probably grow just 2.2 percent over the four quarters of 2014., instead of the robust 2.8 percent forecasters expected last January.”