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There’s a Big Problem With Building More Homes to Fix the Housing Shortage

Construction workers frame a new home being built by CastleRock Communities in the Sunfield neighborhood of Buda, Texas, U.S.

Construction workers frame a new home being built by CastleRock Communities in the Sunfield neighborhood of Buda, Texas, U.S.

Photographer: Matthew Busch/Bloomberg

Housing inventory is crazy tight in the U.S., and prices have been soaring over the last year, so the obvious thing to do is to build more homes. 

Of course that’s a lot easier said than done, and one reason for it is simply that — as with many other things these days — there’s a shortage of raw materials and labor available to do so.