Home sales slump likely to continue: Market has not cooled off as steeply in the Richmond region as it has elsewhere.

Byline: Carol Hazard

Dec. 31--The cooling housing market has been chillier than some real estate experts expected. But not so cold in the Richmond area.

What's more, it hasn't slumped nearly as much here -- or nationwide -- as it did in the 1990 recession. That said, the prospects for housing in the new year are not so bad -- and not so good. "After hitting record highs in 2004 and 2005, single-family housing starts in the nation fell about 11 percent in 2006," said economist Christine Chmura, president of Chmura Economics & Analytics in Richmond. "We expect them to fall another 6 percent in 2007 before starting to grow in 2008. In 2008, we expect growth to remain …