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U.S. Housing Boom Threatened by Short Supply of Homes to Buy

  • Builders cautious with rising costs for land, lumber and labor
  • Low mortgage rates are driving demand, while supply is scare
   
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Updated on

The U.S. housing market, which has been a bright spot in the pandemic-battered economy, is running out of fuel.

With buyers eager to take advantage of low mortgage rates, the inventory of homes to buy is scarce. That’s driving up prices and threatening to derail the boom by pushing homeownership out of reach for many Americans.