By Jann Swanson | Mortgage Daily News
Strong buyer demand appears to be offsetting concerns about labor shortages and rising prices, keeping builder confidence near historic highs the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said on Monday. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), a measure of that confidence in the new home market, was at 80 in July, down 1 point from its June level.
NAHB Chief Economist Paul Emrath said “Among the supply-side challenges, the price of OSB (oriented strand board) has been a particular problem lately. As of July 8, the price of OSB has skyrocketed to more than 500 percent above its January 2020 level. Such cost increases are putting upward pressure on home prices and sidelining many prospective home buyers. The situation has become so extreme that the White House recently heeded NAHB’s request to bring together stakeholders for a supply chain summit on July 16.
