Housing Market 'Meltdown' Intensifies: Home Builders Halt Construction As Confidence Plunges

[mahatmakanejeeves]

BREAKING | INVESTING

Housing Market ‘Meltdown’ Intensifies: Home Builders Halt Construction As Confidence Plunges To Two-Year Low

Jonathan Ponciano Forbes Staff

Jul 18, 2022,11:02am EDT

Updated Jul 18, 2022, 01:10pm EDT

TOPLINE Home builder confidence plunged to a two-year low in July as high inflation and supply chain constraints prompted many builders to halt construction on homes, the National Association of Home Builders reported Monday, marking the latest sign the housing market is due for a steep turnaround after the pandemic-era home buying frenzy.

KEY FACTS

-- Builder confidence in the market for new homes posted its seventh consecutive monthly decline in July, falling 12 points to 55 for its second-biggest single-month drop in history, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Monday.

-- The report also showed home builder expectations for both current and future sales have dropped sharply, pushing confidence to its lowest level since May 2020.

-- In a statement explaining the battered sentiment, NAHB Chair Jerry Konter said production bottlenecks, rising home building costs and high inflation are causing many builders to halt construction, as the cost of land, construction and financing exceed a home's market value in some cases.

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[XanaDUer2]

1. Hope prices fall

We can't afford to buy