Home construction costs continued to rise in March, as the cost of materials and labor remained high. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said that the seasonally adjusted index of builder costs rose 1.5% in March from February. This is the 14th consecutive month that builder costs have risen.
The increase in builder costs is being driven by the rising cost of materials, such as lumber, steel, and copper. The cost of lumber has more than doubled in the past year, and the cost of steel has also risen sharply. The cost of labor is also rising, as builders struggle to find workers.
The increase in builder costs is making it more expensive to build a new home. The NAHB said that the average cost of building a new single-family home in March was $429,100, up from $391,900 in February. This is the highest level since NAHB began tracking builder costs in 1991.
The high cost of building a new home is making it less affordable for many people to buy a home. The NAHB said that the affordability index, which measures how much a typical family can afford to spend on a new home, fell to 250 in March. This is the lowest level since NAHB began tracking affordability in 2010.
The high cost of building a new home is likely to continue to be a challenge for the housing market in the coming months. The NAHB said that it expects builder costs to rise another 5% in the next 12 months. This will make it even more difficult for people to afford to buy a new home.
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