Homebuilders

Lumber futures have recouped recent losses and risen by the exchange maximum of $45 for six consecutive sessions, touching $1,204.90 per 1,000 board feet Wednesday, the highest in three weeks.

Makers of everything from decks to porches and outdoor lighting are lagging behind the broader stock market this year, joining a selloff in homebuilder shares as casualties of a rising-rate environment.

While low interest rates and low existing-home supply are behind much of the growth, the single-family rental market is also fueling demand.

They're headed for their sharpest monthly nosedive since March 2020 as the stocks get pummeled by fears of rising rates.

December's average balance for a mortgage to purchase a newly constructed property set an all-time high, the Mortgage Bankers Association's Builder Application Survey found.

The metric shows how drastically supply-chain disruptions have impacted prices for a key material used in single-family homebuilding.

Rising Covid-19 cases in the U.S. and overseas could create supply chain and labor headwinds in the coming months, slowing construction and leading to further inventory shortages.

Despite elevated prices and supply-chain bottlenecks, October application activity was up for the second time in three months and pushed the average loan size to a record high.

Just to keep up with the growing demand for houses, 61,000 people need to be hired per month to cover attrition, the Home Builders Institute claimed.

Cities in Texas and the South issued the largest number for single-family housing, with all regions seeing consistent yearly growth.