This year has not been very kind to homebuilders. On the supply side, there’s, of course, real or threatened tariffs on the stuff you need to actually build homes: lumber, gypsum, kitchen cabinets, and more.

On the demand side, far fewer people seem to want that new-home smell. Nationally, there are now more unsold newly constructed homes sitting on the market than at any time since 2009, which was not a great year for housing.

The three townhomes Justin Wood finished building this spring in Portland, Oregon, should be pretty hot commodities — 1,200 square feet, three bedrooms, highly coveted off-street parking.

“Most of our homes typically sell within about three to four months of being completed. These ones are now pushing on, oh gosh, what? About four or five months without any sales,” he said.

Wood has cut the price on his townhomes from $450,000 to $430,000 and is offering other incentives, like covering closing costs. He thinks he got a buyer for one of the townhomes yesterday.

But overall, “it’s slow,” he said. “It’s not as slow as I’ve ever seen it, but it's slow.”

High mortgage rates and high home prices are a big part of that slowness. Yet rates were high in 2023 and 2024, and new home sellers could still lure buyers with rate buydowns and other discounts.

“I think the big, big difference that’s weighed on 2025 is that consumer psyche,” said Cara Lavender with John Burns Research and Consulting. “We've seen the consumer psyche this year saying, ‘OK, maybe I haven't lost my job, but maybe I'm scared I'm going to, or I know someone who has.’”

The rising inventory of existing homes hitting the market this year has also meant more competition for new construction.

You’re most likely to find a glut of shiny new unoccupied homes where the post-pandemic building spree took place — Sun Belt markets like Austin and Tampa. Midwesterners still have an appetite for new construction, though, said economist Rob Dietz at the National Association of Homebuilders.

“We've seen strength in markets like Columbus and Dayton and Kansas City — markets that are relatively more affordable,” he said.

Portland-based Justin Wood said he’s optimistic that once the government reopens and other sources of uncertainty end, he’ll start getting more traffic on his properties. Until then, though, he’s in a bit of limbo.

“I've got nine projects in for permits right now, and they're ready to go. And if we were selling product that we have in our pipeline right now a little faster, we'd probably be starting more stuff,” he said.

For now, those new projects will have to wait.