Builder Confidence is Stable while Concerns Regarding Building Materials Linger
The latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index in May shows that builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes is unchanged from April.
Builder confidence held stable in May, despite growing concerns over the price and availability of most building materials, including lumber. The latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) shows that builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes is 83 in May, unchanged from April.
“Builder confidence in the market remains strong due to a lack of resale inventory, low mortgage interest rates and a growing demographic of prospective home buyers,” said Chuck Fowke, NAHB chairman and a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. “However, first-time and first-generation home buyers are particularly at risk for losing a purchase due to cost hikes associated with increasingly scarce material availability. Policymakers must take note and find ways to increase production of domestic building materials, including lumber and steel, and suspend tariffs on imports of construction materials.”