Business has been so good for so long that the current building boom is beginning to seem permanent. But according to some analysts, a gradual slowdown may already be underway. After reaching a peak in February of this year, housing starts declined through most of the spring and summer, as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to cool off what it saw as an overheated economy. According to NAHB economist Stanley Duobinis, that downward trend is likely to continue for at least another year. He expects the 1.68 million housing starts recorded in 1999 to fall to about 1.59 million for the year 2000. The figure for 2001
