U.S. housing: strong demand, low supply

Article Excerpt

The U.S. housing market—and homebuilders—recovered strongly from early 2020 when fears of a major COVID-19-induced catastrophe hung over the U.S. economy. Multi-decade low mortgage rates, limited housing supply, and a recovering job market helped the recovery along. In addition, a desire for more space in a work-from-home environment attracted lots of new buyers to the market. Right now, though, most homebuilders are having trouble keeping up with demand. That’s because significant disruptions in supply chains, which have reduced the available supplies of building materials, plus labour shortages, have significantly extended building cycles. Going forward, these supply constraints should abate—and barring a considerable spike in mortgage rates or an economic recession, the pre-COVID trend of growing housing starts and solid demand, should continue. Meantime, some demographic trends are also supporting the increased demand for homes. For instance, as part of the demand equation, household formations among younger Americans (millennials have become the largest generation) should continue to fuel the need for more housing over the next 10…