The United States is facing a severe shortage of homes for sale following a surge in buying activity throughout the pandemic, and unrelenting supply chain disruptions aren’t helping. The roots of a nearly 3 million home supply deficit can be traced back to the 2008 housing bubble and subsequent collapse, when the construction workforce became decimated and home building slowed across the U.S.
Over a decade later, builders are still working to get back on their feet, and demand from impatient buyers isn’t letting up. With a shortage of construction labor and ever-growing lead times still weighing on builders, a supply deficit continues to push home prices even higher in a volatile post-pandemic market, NPR reports.
Emerson Claus has been building houses for 45 years. But he has never faced delays like he is now trying to get basic building materials. "I had a client ask me to add a door," he says at a job site outside Boston. "We just waited six months to get it."
"That's a door in a frame," Claus says, exasperated. "That's kind of crazy." He says appliances can be even worse. "A dishwasher, if you can find the model you want right now, you might wait a year for it."
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