{"id":689109,"date":"2026-10-19T14:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=689109"},"modified":"2026-10-19T14:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:25:00","slug":"us-homebuilder-confidence-crashes-to-14-year-low-blame-mortgage-rates-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=689109","title":{"rendered":"US Homebuilder Confidence Crashes To 14 Year Low, Blame Mortgage Rates & Immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"

US Homebuilder Confidence Crashes To 14 Year Low, Blame Mortgage Rates & Immigration<\/span><\/p>\n

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American homebuilder confidence crashed to 29 in October – down from 32 in September and worse than the 31 print expected as rising mortgage rates, energy and material costs, and worsening labor and lot conditions have pushed builder sentiment to a 14-year low.<\/strong><\/p>\n

All three of the major HMI indices posted losses in October.<\/p>\n

The index measuring current sales conditions fell two points to 33, the index gauging future sales expectations dropped five points to 32 and the index charting prospective buyer traffic fell five points to 18.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMortgage rates have climbed well above 7% in recent weeks<\/strong>, and higher gas prices and inflation have further weakened buyer traffic across much of the country,\u201d said NAHB Chairman Bill Owens, a home builder and remodeler from Worthington, Ohio. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThough builders are also contending with higher costs for construction loans, building materials and diesel, the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to advance regulatory reform are helping to ease some of the cost pressures they face. <\/strong>Nationwide, more than one-third of builders reported immigration enforcement activity<\/strong> in their market areas during the past month, causing construction delays and discouraging legal workers from reporting to work.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Judging by Future Sales expectations, builders are not going to be adding any new supply in a hurry…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHousing remains squeezed by supply-side constraints and significant affordability challenges,\u201d <\/strong><\/em>said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDemand persists, but higher mortgage rates, elevated construction costs and weaker consumer confidence are keeping more buyers on the sidelines. As a result, buyer traffic has fallen to its lowest level since April 2012, excluding the pandemic\u2019s onset in April 2020.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The latest HMI survey found that 43% of builders cut prices in October, the highest share during the 2020-2026 period.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The average price cut remained at 6% for the seventh consecutive month. Meanwhile, 65% of builders reported using sales incentives in October, the 19th straight month at least 60% of builders have done so.<\/p>\n

Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast dropped one point to 38, the Midwest fell three points to 40,<\/strong> the South fell one point to 30 and the West posted a two-point decline to 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, as ugly as the data was, builder confidence has a long way to go before it catches down to homebuyer confidence…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Homebuyers have never been less enthusiastic about the American Dream… perhaps this is why…<\/p>\n

The gap between current mortgage rates (7.5%) and the average mortgage across all of American homeowners (4.33%) is extreme to say the least, trapping sellers and buyers…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Who blinks first?\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nMon, 10\/19\/2026 – 10:25<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US Homebuilder Confidence Crashes To 14 Year Low, Blame Mortgage Rates & Immigration American homebuilder confidence crashed to 29 in October – down from 32 in September and worse than the 31 print expected as rising mortgage rates, energy and material costs, and worsening labor and lot conditions have pushed builder sentiment to a 14-year… Continue reading US Homebuilder Confidence Crashes To 14 Year Low, Blame Mortgage Rates & Immigration<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-689109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=689109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689109\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=689109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=689109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=689109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}