Two neighboring Arizona counties, both part of the burgeoning Phoenix area, lead the nation in housing growth in the 12-month period ended June 30, 2007, according to the latest figures from the Census Bureau.

During the same time, unfortunately, two Louisiana parishes, lost more than half their housing units, the government's statisticians also reported.

Arizona's Pinal County, Ariz., had the highest growth rate of housing units of any county in the nation, while its next-door neighbor, Maricopa County, was the biggest numerical gainer.

The number of dwelling units in Pinal County increased by 16.6 percent, or more than 18,000 units during the July 1-June 30 period. Maricopa gained 43,000 units. A housing unit can be a house, an apartment or even a single room intended as separate living quarters with direct access from outside.

Flagler County, Fla., north of Daytona Beach on the Atlantic coast, had the highest growth rate of housing stock the previous two years but slipped to fifth place in 2006. Two other Florida counties among the top five: Second-place Sumter (west of Orlando) and fourth-place Lee (Ft. Myers). Kendall, Ill., near Chicago, was third.

In terms of sheer numbers, Maricopa was followed in numerical growth by Harris County (Houston), Tex., which added 39,000 units; Clark County (Las Vegas), Nev., with 38,000; Riverside County (east of Los Angeles), Calif., with 33,000; and Lee County (Fort Myers), Fla., with 28,000.

Among all counties and county equivalents, Orleans Parish, La., experienced the largest numerical decline in housing units in the 12-month study period, losing 107,000 dwellings, or slightly more than half its housing stock. Neighboring St. Bernard Parish had the highest rate of decline, losing 76.2 percent of its homes. Both parishes suffered major damage from Hurricane Katrina.

At the state level, four of the five states with the most rapid housing growth are in the West: Nevada, 4.5 percent; Arizona, 3.5 percent; Idaho, 3.4 percent; Florida, 3.3 percent, and Utah, 3.1 percent). Nevada''s rate of growth was more than triple the national average.

The South dominated the states adding the greatest number of housing units. Florida gained 273,000 homes during the period to lead all states, followed by Texas (198,000), California (181,000), Georgia (101,000) and North Carolina (89,000).

Louisiana was the only state to experience a decline, with the number of housing units falling by 110,000, or 5.7 percent.

The United States had an estimated 126.3 million housing units as of June 30, 2006, representing an increase of 1.8 million, or 1.4 percent, since July 1, 2005.

Census also reported these interesting figures recently:

Published: September 12, 2007

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.