It's 'critical' home builders 'ramp up production': NAR economist
New home construction fell to a four-month low in November, down 1.8% from the previous month. Yet new home inventory is at a 17-year high, and homebuilders are optimistic heading into 2025. Following yesterday's interview with National Association of Home Builders CEO Jim Tobin, National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun joins Brad Smith on Wealth to discuss his outlook for the housing market. "Home sales have been rising in recent months after being stagnant in the early part of the year, and the reasoning is very simple: We have more inventory...bringing out more buyers," Yun says. The economist notes, "We know that the mortgage rate is not fully behaving, as the Federal Reserve has been cutting rates, mortgage rates stubbornly refusing to decline, but the more inventory, more choices for consumers are bringing buyers back into the market." He says, "That's why it is critical that the builders ramp up production in the upcoming years. So I do believe that the builders need to produce more and will produce more." To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.