30% of Americans missed their housing payments in June. [1]
Why the hell would you build a new house, when an unprecedented, enormous number of homes are in danger of foreclosure?
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/30percent-of-americans-misse...
Why the hell would you build a new house, when an unprecedented, enormous number of homes are in danger of foreclosure?
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/30percent-of-americans-misse...
The people buying houses are not the same as the ones who missed their payments.
The people building houses are not connected with those who are missing payments.
Foreclosed homes usually go on the market for a steep discount. Additionally widespread foreclosures would depress house pricing in general. The market will gradually price in reduced rent-seeking ability.
For a buyer, it may be a good option to wait a relatively short period for prices to depress rather than build a new home at this time.
Edit: Mentioned reduced landlord rent-seeking ability in response to @sombremesa’s question if rental properties would affect pricing.
This may be market dependent. When I was buying a house, foreclosed homes were usually not any cheaper.
> For a buyer, it may be a good option to wait a relatively short period for prices to depress rather than build a new home at this time.
I think the general gist is that suburban houses are in demand now, and prices are not dropping. Some may hope that they will drop in the future for reasons you are pointing out, but it's a gamble that depends on the timeline of building a house and how long coronavirus is around vs how long it will take for prices to come down.
Average percentages usually don't paint an accurate picture.