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Homebuilders

Mortgage rates have fallen, but are homes more affordable?

by Justin Ho
Mar 25, 2024
When you take mortgage rates, housing prices and incomes into account, homes are 44% less affordable than they were two years ago.
New home sales were 6% higher than the same time last year. But that doesn't mean the new homes are more affordable.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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Single-family home construction is booming, despite higher mortgage rates

by Samantha Fields
Mar 19, 2024
But the boom doesn't seem to be reaching some parts of the country.
Most of the new single-family homes are being built in suburbs, says Ali Wolf at data firm Zonda.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Lower mortgage rates open the door for homebuilders

by Savannah Maher
Jan 25, 2024
Some builders are starting to see more interest from buyers, including those who spent 2023 on the sidelines, waiting for better rates.
"It feels like there’s some pent-up demand," for homebuilding, says Clint Mitchell of Estridge Homes in Indianapolis. Above, home construction in Vermont.
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Home builders try to make houses more affordable by making them smaller

by Savannah Maher
Nov 1, 2023
High mortgage rates and building costs have reversed the pandemic trend of bigger houses.
The construction of smaller homes now could help ensure affordable inventory in the long run.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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With many homebuyers priced out, builders try to sweeten the deal

by Samantha Fields
Oct 25, 2023
A lot of homebuilders are working with lenders to offer lower mortgage rates — or they're offering other incentives like money towards closing costs.
ANNVIPS/iStock / Getty Images Plu
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America needs more houses, but homebuilders are hobbled by high interest rates

by Henry Epp
Oct 18, 2023
The number of completed homes rose last month. But further up the housing pipeline, homebuilders are starting fewer projects right now.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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An electrical transformer shortage has big implications for housing, renewables

by Justin Ho
Sep 19, 2023
You may not think much about electrical distribution transformers, but not having them can delay entire housing developments and grid updates.
"Typically on a utility pole they’re round, and they’re at the top of the pole," said John Kirk, managing director at Embrey, a multifamily developer based in San Antonio.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
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Homebuilders are feeling a bit more confident

by Justin Ho
Jul 18, 2023
Builders find there's high demand for new developments, but they're also finding it harder to convince banks to loan them money.
Despite increased confidence, homebuilders still face a number of challenges. One of those challenges is getting a loan.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Homebuilders' optimism keeps building

by Stephanie Hughes
Jun 19, 2023
More buyers are turning to newly constructed homes as fewer owners of existing homes choose to sell.
New houses currently make up about 1 in 3 homes for sale, a much larger proportion than in the past, housing economist Robert Dietz says.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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What cheaper lumber means for the housing market

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Sep 27, 2022
Lumber is about as cheap as it was before the pandemic, a sign of the slowing housing market. But savings are offset by rising financing costs.
Even though lumber prices have eased, financing for builders and buyers has become costlier.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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