BBC News - Obama says housing glut hindering economic recovery
18 August 2010 Last updated at 14:52 ETObama says housing glut hindering economic recovery
President Barack Obama has said an over-supply of homes is hindering the US economic recovery.
Mr Obama also said the US had to find a way to curb its budget deficit without further slowing economic growth.
"People, consumers, are not going to start spending until they feel a little more confident that the economy's getting stronger," he said in Ohio.
Mr Obama is touting Democratic policies on a campaign-style swing through important electoral states.
The president told a group of about 30 voters at a private home in the city Columbus that a glut in the housing market was partly responsible for the slow economic recovery.
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"The housing market is still a big drag on the economy as a whole," he said.
"It is going to take some time for us to absorb this inventory, that was really too high... We were building 2 million homes a year when only 1.4 were being absorbed."
Mr Obama was speaking at an event the White House billed as a "kitchen table and backyard discussion".
The economy is expected to be the single biggest issue for US voters in November's mid-term elections.
Unemployment in the country is lingering at around 10%, and US growth slowed in the second quarter of 2010, sparking fears the country might fall back into recession.
"Mr Obama was speaking at an event the White House billed as a 'kitchen table and backyard discussion'."
I love that. I think it's how public officials *should* be talking to people.
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