Surging construction costs have held back homebuilding in recent months, contributing to skyrocketing prices while the supply of homes remains limited.
Sales of new U.S. homes dropped unexpectedly in June to the lowest since April 2020, showing a further weakening in demand against a backdrop of elevated prices and tight supply. Purchases of new single-family homes fell 6.6% to a 676,000 annualized pace following a downwardly revised 724,000 in May, government data showed Monday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 796,000 rate. Surging construction costs for everything from labor to transportation to lumber have held back homebuilding in recent months, contributing to skyrocketing prices while the supply of homes remains limited.
