The CEO of the National Association of Home Builders is warning that the supply chain problems present a “looming crisis” for the housing market.
During a segment on Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.,” National Association of Home Builders CEO Jerry Howard said the “supply chain is going to be a major problem if we don’t get it fixed very soon” and that it is “a looming, looming crisis.”
“The supply chain is going to be a major problem if we don’t get it fixed very soon. Everything from lumber, to drywall, to concrete, to appliances, three, four months delays as the product all sits on the boats in the ports around the country. It’s a looming, looming crisis,” Howard said.
Howard also warned of an impending increase in home prices of “at least a few thousand dollars, depending on where you are and what products you’re talking about.”
“Obviously, time is money, and the longer it takes, the more it’s going to add to the price of the house. Right now, we’re looking at at least a few thousand dollars, depending on where you are and what products you’re talking about. So, it’s — housing affordability is a problem, as you just said on the previous report in the rental market,” he continued. “And now it’s getting to be a problem in the first-time homebuyer market. That doesn’t bode well for housing or the economy.”
Last month, USA Today reported that “there’s such an imbalance in the supply of homes and the number of people who want to become homeowners that the U.S. needs 5.24 million more homes.”
On top of the supply chain problems, there are also labor shortages across every industry.
“There were 10 million job openings in the United States in August – 1.4 million more than the pool of workers who could take those jobs. This labor shortage hasn’t spared the homebuilding industry, and a shortage of available workers has caused many homebuilders to be unable to meet demand,” the USA Today report added.
