【World Property Journal】Builder Confidence Remains High in North America

The National Association of Home Builders latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released this week, strong U.S. buyer demand helped offset supply chain challenges and a surge in lumber prices as builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched up one point to 84 in February 2021.

"Lumber prices have been steadily rising this year and hit a record high in mid-February, adding thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home and causing some builders to abruptly halt projects at a time when inventories are already at all-time lows," said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. "Builders remain very focused on regulatory and other policy issues that could price out households seeking new homes in a tight market this year."

"Demand conditions remain solid due to demographics, low mortgage rates and the suburban shift to lower cost markets, but we expect to see some cooling in growth rates for residential construction in 2021 due to cost factors, supply chain issues and regulatory risks," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. "Some builders are at capacity and may not be able to expand production due to these headwinds."

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