New home construction in the US fell in September

New home construction in the United States shrank 1.6% in September, weighed down by material shortages caused by problems in supply chains and employment.

The Commerce Department report released Tuesday also reflected that building permit applications, a measure of future activity, fell 7.7% from August to 1.59 million, but have remained unchanged since September 2020.

In fact, new home construction fell to an adjusted annual rate of 1.555 million units last month, the lowest level since April.

Lower interest rates and a desire for more space attract buyers, but higher material costs and material shortages have led to higher prices and inflation.

Economists and developers say demand remains strong, despite the fact that the cost of a new home is about 20% more than last year.

Apartment construction also fell 5.1% in the August-September period, while construction of single-family homes was unchanged from 1.1 million units in the previous month.

Among the rarest materials are windows and electrical distribution boxes, while the cost of lumber is starting to rise after dropping all records in May.

Economists polled by Reuters expected construction to rise to 1,620 units.

[Con información de AP y Reuters]

Connect with Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook social networking siteAnd Twitter NS Instagram.