Builder confidence hits 14-year low as mortgage rates top 7%
Another 65% of builders reported using sales incentives, extending a streak in which at least 60% of the industry has done so for 19 straight months.
NAHB Chairman Bill Owens, a home builder and remodeler from Worthington, Ohio, described the pressures facing the sector.
“Mortgage rates have climbed well above 7% in recent weeks, and higher gas prices and inflation have further weakened buyer traffic across much of the country. Though builders are also contending with higher costs for construction loans, building materials and diesel, the Trump administration’s efforts to advance regulatory reform are helping to ease some of the cost pressures they face,” Owens said.
“Nationwide, more than one-third of builders reported immigration enforcement activity in their market areas during the past month, causing construction delays and discouraging legal workers from reporting to work.”
For mortgage brokers managing purchase pipelines, October’s data compounds the headwinds that rising mortgage rates and surging bond yields have placed on new-home transactions throughout 2026.
