Despite rising mortgage rates, slower buyer activity, and overall economic uncertainty, home builder sentiment is rising for the third straight month in March after a year of decreases, HousingWire reports. Home builder sentiment in the market for newly built, single-family homes ticked two points higher from February’s reading to an index value of 44 in March. That increase could be caused by a lack of existing-home inventory, which is shifting demand to the new-home market.
“Even as builders continue to deal with stubbornly high construction costs and material supply chain disruptions, they continue to report strong pent-up demand as buyers are waiting for interest rates to drop and turning more to the new home market due to a shortage of existing inventory,” Alicia Huey, the NAHB chairman, said in a statement.
“Given recent instability concerns in the banking system and volatility in interest rates, builders are highly uncertain about the near- and medium-term outlook,” Huey said.
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