Housing inventory

Total housing starts increased 3% to a 1.35 million annualized rate last month, driven by a 19.6% surge in multifamily construction, according to government data released Wednesday.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders fell for a third straight month in July as elevated interest rates weighed on sales and kept construction financing costs high.

Despite a slow return of housing inventory, purchase application numbers dipped in a week where interest rates finished higher, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The sales pace is now at the low end of the range seen over the past year, suggesting limited momentum amid a lack of affordability.

A national measure of prices rose 6.3% from a year earlier, less than the 6.5% gain in March, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

The income needed to afford a typical apartment is the highest since 2022.

Sales of existing homes in the U.S. fell for a third straight month in May while prices set another record, underscoring persistent affordability challenges that hobbled the important spring selling season.

New home construction in the US slumped in May to the slowest pace in four years, as higher-for-longer interest rates sap the housing industry's momentum from earlier this year.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment unexpectedly declined in June to the lowest level this year as mortgage rates near 7% limited prospective-buyer interest and weighed on the demand outlook.

While not-in-my-backyard activists have long fought new developments, local officials and business groups across the South say they've seen a heightened level of anger since the pandemic-era growth.