U.S. Homebuilders Urge Biden to Help Cut Costs for Market in ‘Extreme Duress’
A house under construction in Antioch, California on March 31.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The biggest U.S. housing industry group urged President Joe Biden to help reduce the cost of homebuilding, saying soaring prices and rising mortgage rates are putting the market “under extreme duress” and driving ownership out of reach for many Americans.
The National Association of Home Builders asked the White House to take action to address the supply-chain disruptions that are pushing up the costs of materials and labor, in a letter sent Wednesday. The group said the volatility in lumber prices alone has raised the cost of a typical single-family home by more than $18,600 since last August. Among its proposals are the suspension of tariffs on softwood imports from Canada.