Economics
Homebuilders Take Longer Than Ever to Finish as Backlogs Mount
A contractor works on the roof of a house under construction in Sumter, South Carolina.
Photographer: Micah Green/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Homebuilders appear to be taking longer than ever to get from start to finish.
The number of houses in the U.S. that remain under construction exceeded the number of those completed by the most on record in September, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. It’s the fourth month in a row that so-called completions have lagged.