New home sales fell to the lowest pace in a year, with prices jumping 18 percent on a year-over-year basis, due to the high costs and uncertain availability of building materials, lots and labor.
Overall housing starts increased 3.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.57 million units off of a downwardly revised April reading.
Purchases of high-end homes in the U.S. jumped 26% year over year during the three months ending April 30, outpacing the 17.8% gain in purchases of affordable homes and the 14.8% increase in purchases of mid-priced homes.
While longer-commute areas have a much greater market share in single-family home building, the single-family construction growth rates in the first quarter of 2021 were strongest in the areas with the shortest commuting times.
The effect of high lumber prices on low- and moderate-income families is a top concern of NAHB and the Biden administration, noted NAHB's Immediate Past Chairman Greg Ugalde.
Rising building materials costs and low inventory have caused new home sales prices to jump 20 percent on a year-over-year basis, harming housing affordability and driving down the pace of new home sales.