According to the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) Monday Economic Report for this week, existing home sales fell 1.5% from 4.78 million units at the annual rate in August to 4.71 million units in September, declining for the eighth straight month. Affordability has become a big challenge for potential homebuyers, with soaring costs and higher mortgage rates dampening demand. On a YoY basis, existing home sales plummeted 23.8% from 6.18 million units in September 2021.

New residential construction activity fell 8.1% from 1,566,000 units at the annual rate in August to 1,439,000 units in September. Single-family housing starts declined 4.7% from 936,000 units to 892,000 units. On a YoY basis, new housing starts decreased 7.7% from 1,559,000 units in September 2021, with single-family construction activity plummeting 18.5% over the past 12 months.