New Construction Double Jeopardy: Land & Labor

Sales of newly built single-family homes have struggled to recover to pre-recession norms, and single family construction activity overall has been anemic despite limited for-sale inventory and evidence of robust demand in certain market segments (e.g., entry-level homes).

In the latest Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, we asked an expert panel of more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts, and market strategists to identify the factors contributing to the slower-than-expected pace of single-family home construction. We also asked the experts to rank the factors according to their impact on the market for new homes. (Pulsenomics conducts the survey on behalf of Zillow; 79 of the panelists responded to this question). The below chart summarizes the panel’s feedback.