The mid-pandemic housing boom is tapering off as inflation and elevated interest rates make homeownership increasingly unaffordable for a growing number of Americans, but despite softening demand, home prices are still on the rise. A 10-year housing deficit has created an undersupplied and overpriced market, and even as builders pick up the pace of new construction, shortages are intensifying, according to Insider.
Throughout the pandemic, the cost of building a new home surged thanks to record high materials prices and supply chain disruptions. Between labor and materials shortages and ineffective zoning regulations, roadblocks are mounting for new-home construction projects even though boosting supply is a vital first step in addressing and solving a prolonged affordability crisis.
Robert Dietz, the chief economist at NAHB says that the US government will need to work with the construction industry to boost the affordable housing supply.
"Policymakers need to focus on mending broken building material supply chains and reducing ineffective zoning and other regulatory policies to help bend the cost curve and enable builders to boost attainable housing production," he said in a statement.
Advertisement
Related Stories
High-Performance Homes
Georgia Gets Its First Passive House
With just one other PHIUS-certified house in the southeastern US, Georgia is the second state to build to the green, zero-carbon standard
Market Data + Trends
Nearly One-Third of US Homes for Sale in Q1 2024 Are New Construction
The portion of housing inventory that’s newly built remains at roughly double pre-pandemic levels
Housing Markets
Which US Cities Are Seeing the Most New-Construction Homes?
Texas metros top list of cities with high rates of new construction but not of cities with highest sales prices for new-construction homes