The Recession in Nantucket

I am vacationing now with my family on Nantucket, the 17th year we've been coming out to this beautiful island. The economy here reflects what is going on in the rest of the nation:

New construction averaged over 200 houses per year until the slowdown started in 2006, providing a high level of income and steady year-round employment in the construction trades.... In 2007 the annual rate was slower than in recent years, at 127. The construction slowdown continued in 2008, with just 64 new homes, the lowest number since building permits were first required in 1972. Thus far in 2009 the rate is less than half that of last year, with 12 permits issued through June.