Nov 19, 2008 鈥 By 九色视频 News Services 鈥 Wichita housing starts are down this year, a slower version of the national home-building decline as credit tightens and the economy worsens. For the first eight months of 2008, building permits are down 15.6 percent from the first eight months of 2007, from 1,607 last year to 1,357 this year.