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11<br />
Builders face significant head winds because of<br />
the “five Ls” — labor, lots, laws, lending and<br />
lumber. A labor shortage, lack of buildable lots,<br />
of numerous regulations, strict lending and tariffs<br />
on supplies such as lumber have increased<br />
their costs, says Dietz.<br />
NAHB predicts new-home sales will be around<br />
628,000, the same as in 2018. Single-family<br />
construction, which includes for-sale and notfor-sale<br />
homes, will increase nearly 2 percent<br />
from 2018 to around 900,000 units. Based on<br />
demographics, that’s 200,000 to 300,000 less<br />
than the market could absorb and well below<br />
the average number of starts pre-housing crash.<br />
From 2000 to 2003, the average was 1.3 million.<br />
Builders have taken a lot of heat for not building enough homes or building primarily<br />
luxury homes. But Dietz said there has been an uptick in townhouse construction,<br />
a more affordable single-family option.
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