According to the latest Census Bureau report, housing starts declined 14.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units in March. Multifamily starts plunged 20.8% to 290,000, while single-family starts fell 12.4% to a rate of 1.02 million.
The continued imbalance between supply and demand is expected to keep home prices rising, according to Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic.
“However, with expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts fading out of forecasts, potential homebuyers will not gain any cost advantage by staying on the sidelines in 2024,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic.
Read more: How steep is America’s housing supply crisis?
Duncan added that while mortgage rates stabilized briefly in the 6.6% to 6.7% range in January, boosting early Q1 demand, the recent upward trend in rates could impact affordability.
Source: mpamag.com