Homebuilder sentiment is at a 14-year low
All signs point to housing affordability getting worse.
TL;DR
- Housing starts fell 5.2% in September to 1.22 million units, down 7.4% year over year.
- Single-family home starts reached their lowest level since March 2023.
- Pending home sales dropped 7.3% last month, the lowest since 2001.
- Homebuilder sentiment fell to its lowest level since 2012.
- Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates are near 7.4%, not consistently above this level since 2000.
- Builders compete with data center builders for labor and materials.
- Restrictionist immigration policy may be crimping the supply of construction workers.