Buoyed by the strongest new home sales market since before the Great Financial Crisis, homebuilder sentiment climbed to record levels in August, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The housing tailwinds prevailing over drags from the labor market include historically low interest rates and a surge in buyer traffic, attributable at least in part to families exploring relocation from urban apartments.

Dr. Robert Dietz, Chief Economist of the National Association of Home Builders and previously of the United States Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, joins Sam Chandan to discuss homebuilding and the housing market forecast. Among the risks to the outlook, they explore sharp increases in the cost of lumber and other building materials, as well as shortages in the availability of skilled labor, all of which are constraining supply, exerting upward pressure on home prices, and placing homeownership out of reach for many American families. Rising lumber prices in particular, owing significantly to US tariffs on imports from Canada, are estimated to be adding $14,000 to the price of a typical new single-family home.

For more information about NAHB and the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, visit the NAHB on the web. Rob's analysis of the market can be found in Eye on Housing and on his Twitter feed at @dietz_econ. 

For more information about the Urban Lab podcast and Dr. Sam Chandan, please visit http://www.samchandan.com/urbanlab. Follow Sam  and the Urban Lab on Twitter at SamChandan and UrbanLabPodcast.