Fed Chairman Expresses Hope Building Material Bottlenecks will be Alleviated
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed hope that building material bottlenecks that have raised housing costs will begin to ease during a hearing today before the House Financial Services Committee on monetary policy and the state of the economy.
“Single-family housing demand been quite high and in addition prices have been driven up by material shortages which we hope will be alleviated,” Powell told lawmakers. “On the supply side, they [builders] can’t build enough houses. There isn’t enough lumber,” the Fed chairman added.
“Lumber prices have gone way down but they are still twice as high as before the pandemic. We don’t know it, but we think that will be the pattern – prices come down as more supply comes online to meet the higher demand.”
Powell also made it clear that while the Fed can affect interest rates, it can do very little to remedy supply side issues that builders continue to deal with.
“There are limitations around the availability of some raw materials and labor and of zoning and things like that and nothing we can do will really affect that,” said Powell.
Although he said that affordable housing is largely out of the purview of the Fed’s responsibility, Powell noted that this “is certainly a very important issue.”
This is also a top priority for House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who announced at the hearing that she will be introducing the Housing is Infrastructure Act this week “to ensure that Congress finally makes long overdue investments in the housing market. This bill would provide a historic investment of more than $600 billion to ensure that affordable housing is available all across the country.”
Latest from NAHBNow
Oct 31, 2025
NAHB's Monthly Update Features Talking Points on Legislative PrioritiesThe update provides the latest messaging framework to help members articulate housing priorities and latest news related to the recent legislative proposals and the government shutdown.
Oct 31, 2025
HBA Staff Appreciation Week Kicks OffFrom Nov. 3-7, NAHB will celebrate HBA Staff Appreciation Week, an annual event that recognizes the individuals who serve the more than 650 home builders associations that make up NAHB.
Latest Economic News
Oct 30, 2025
Which Local Markets Track National Trends the Most: 2024 Single-Family MAIThe National Association of Home Builders developed the Single-Family Market Association Index (MAI) to measure how closely single-family building permits in metro areas follow national patterns. By comparing local and national trends, the MAI helps industry leaders and forecasters better understand and predict housing market activity.
Oct 29, 2025
The Fed Cuts amid Partly Cloudy ConditionsWith the government shutdown limiting the quantity of economic data available to markets and policymakers, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) enacted a widely anticipated 25 basis point cut for the short-term federal funds rate.
Oct 28, 2025
Home Price Growth SlowsHome prices in August grew at the lowest annual rate in over two years, according to the recent release of the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – SA).
