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SUPER-PROMPT v11 – Evergreen News+, Publish-Only, Feature-Rich
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Homebuilding has slowed as Americans face economic uncertainty and high mortgage rates. Here, construction workers install a lumber roof on a new home last month in Laveen, Ariz.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
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Ross D. Franklin/AP
Economic uncertainty has produced a double whammy for the housing market: sluggish home sales and plodding construction.Last month was the slowest April for existing home sales in 16 years – a sharp rebuke to hopes that this spring the housing market would recover after two very sleepy years.
In a May survey of builder confidence conducted by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders, home builder sentiment dropped to a level last seen in November 2023.
The problem, as ever, is the cost of housing: Home prices are out of reach for many who would like to buy. And the tariff drama under President Trump has both made it more expensive to build new homes, and made the future more unpredictable for would-be homebuyers.
The result is a country where builders want to build, and buyers want to buy – but the future is to much in doubt.
Construction has slipped
The first issue is a dip in demand. Lots of Americans would love to buy a home, but they simply can’t afford to.Home prices are up nearly 50% as before the pandemic, and mortgage interest rates ticked up to 6.86% last week – a far cry from their pandemic low of 2.65% for a
