EXHIBIT 99



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                Contact:
                                                     Maria Duey
                                                     313-792-5500



                           MASCO CORPORATION ANNOUNCES
            A REDUCTION IN ANTICIPATED EARNINGS FOR 2006 AS A RESULT
                  OF THE ACCELERATED DECLINE IN HOUSING STARTS



         Taylor, Michigan (September 20, 2006) -- Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS)
today announced lower earnings expectations for 2006. "A softening of incoming
orders for building products and services in recent weeks, along with a
forecasted deeper than expected decline in year-over-year single family housing
starts for the last four months of 2006, currently projected to approximate
twenty percent, are expected to result in the Company's third quarter sales
being approximately flat, and fourth quarter sales being down low-to mid-single
digits compared to the third and fourth quarters of 2005, respectively.
Accordingly, full year earnings, excluding costs and charges related to profit
improvement programs and any other items, may be closer to $2.25 to $2.30 per
common share rather than our most recent guidance of the lower end of the range
of $2.40 to $2.50 per common share," said Richard A. Manoogian, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Masco Corporation.

         The Company will host a conference call today at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Participants in the call are asked to register five to ten minutes prior to the
scheduled start time by dialing (719) 457-2645 (confirmation #4017834). The
conference call will be webcast simultaneously on the Company's website at
www.masco.com. A replay of the call will be available on Masco's website or by
phone by dialing (719) 457-0820 (replay access code #4017834) approximately two
hours after the end of the call and will continue through September 27, 2006.

         Headquartered in Taylor, Michigan, Masco Corporation is one of the
world's leading manufacturers of home improvement and building products, as well
as a leading provider of services that include the installation of insulation
and other building products.

         Masco Corporation's press releases and other information are available
through the Company's toll free number, 1-888-MAS-NEWS, or under the Investor
Relations section of Masco's website at www.masco.com.







         Statements contained herein may include certain forward-looking
statements regarding Masco's future sales, earnings growth potential and other
developments. Actual results may vary materially because of external factors
such as housing starts, commodity costs, interest rate fluctuations, changes in
consumer spending and other factors over which management has no control. The
Company believes that certain non-GAAP performance measures and ratios, used in
managing the business, may provide users of this financial information with
additional meaningful comparisons between current results and results in prior
periods. Non-GAAP performance measures and ratios should be viewed in addition
to, and not as an alternative for, the Company's reported results under
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Additional
information about the Company's products, markets and conditions, which could
affect the Company's future performance, is contained in the Company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is available on Masco's website
at www.masco.com. Masco undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


                                     # # # #





                                MASCO CORPORATION
                               BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS



o     At the beginning of August we indicated that our earnings, excluding costs
      and charges related to profit improvement programs and any other items,
      would be closer to the lower end of our guidance of $2.40 to $2.50 per
      common share based on an increased forecasted decline for full-year
      housing starts of eight percent.

o     While August sales and earnings approximated our expectations, in
      September we have experienced a significant softening of incoming orders
      for building products and services.

o     Last week, a number of industry sources lowered their annual forecasts for
      housing starts to an approximate 12 percent decline from their previous
      July forecasts of an approximate eight percent decline. Based on actual
      housing starts for the first eight months of the year this would imply a
      decline of approximately 20 percent for the remaining four months of 2006.

o     As a result of this revised forecast and information we are receiving from
      our own customers, we are also forecasting an increased decline of at
      least 12 percent in housing starts for this year. We have previously
      stated that a one percent change in housing starts impacts our annual
      earnings per share by approximately two and a half cents.

o     Based on this change in forecast and given that we have also seen some
      modest softening in sales of larger ticket items on the consumer side of
      our business, we now anticipate that our third quarter sales will be
      approximately flat, and fourth quarter sales will be down approximately
      low- to mid-single digits as compared to the third and fourth quarters of
      2005, respectively. Our full-year earnings, excluding costs and charges
      related to profit improvement programs and any other items, may
      approximate $2.25 to $2.30 per common share versus our most recent
      guidance of the lower end of the range of $2.40 to $2.50 per common share.