Economic uncertainty has produced a double whammy for the housing market: sluggish home sales and plodding construction. Last month was the slowest April for existing home sales in 16 years — a sharp rebuke to hopes that this spring the housing market would recover after two very sleepy years.
In a May survey of builder confidence conducted by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders, home builder sentiment dropped to a level last seen in November 2023.
The problem, as ever, is the cost of housing: Home prices are out of reach for many who would like to buy. And the tariff drama under Trump has both made it more expensive to build new homes, and made the future more unpredictable for would-be homebuyers.