Excluding a historic two-month plunge at the start of Covid, home builder confidence has tanked to its lowest level in a decade.
Home builder confidence plunged for a tenth month straight in October as rising interest rates continued to weaken housing demand—prompting economists to warn an unexpected rise in new home sales last month may be short-lived and prices may be on the brink of collapse, the National Association of Home Builders reported Tuesday....
In a statement, the association's chair, Jerry Konter, said skyrocketing mortgage rates have created an"unhealthy and unsustainable situation," noting this year will likely mark the first since 2011 to see a decline in the number of housing starts, or homes on which construction starts. Others are similarly bearish: In emailed comments, Pantheon Macro chief economist Ian Shepherdson said the"disastrous" figures make it clear that the