Forced to slow down construction as buyer demand plummets, builders predict lower home starts through 2023.
Single-family home starts dropped in September and were down 5.6% since the beginning of the year, the Commerce Department reported this week. Multifamily construction has dropped 13.2%.
Builders are blaming rapidly rising mortgage rates, ongoing supply chain disruptions, and affordability challenges for the rapid pullback in the new-home market. “High mortgage rates approaching 7% have significantly weakened demand, particularly for first-time and first-generation prospective home buyers,” says National Association of Home Builders chairman Jerry Konter. “This situation is unhealthy and unsustainable".
