Home builders are hitting the brakes as building costs rise and prospective buyers get priced out of the market.

June housing starts, a measure of new home construction during the month, fell 2% month-over-month and 6.3% from a year ago, according to the US Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, a separate survey released Monday found builder confidence this month plunged to its lowest level since the spring of 2020. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index is meant to gauge market conditions and looks at current sales, buyer traffic and the outlook for sales over the next six months.

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"Production bottlenecks, rising home building costs and high inflation are causing many builders to halt construction because the cost of land, construction and financing exceeds the market value of the home," said Jerry Konter, NAHB chairman and a home builder and developer from Savannah, Georgia.

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The building slowdown comes as rising mortgage rates and home prices continue to discourage potential buyers, said Joel Berner, senior economic research analyst for Realtor.com.

Home builders are hitting the brakes as building costs rise and prospective buyers get priced out of the market.

June housing starts, a measure of new home construction during the month, fell 2% month-over-month and 6.3% from a year ago, according to the US Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, a separate survey released Monday found builder confidence this month plunged to its lowest level since the spring of 2020. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index is meant to gauge market conditions and looks at current sales, buyer traffic and the outlook for sales over the next six months.

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"Production bottlenecks, rising home building costs and high inflation are causing many builders to halt construction because the cost of land, construction and financing exceeds the market value of the home," said Jerry Konter, NAHB chairman and a home builder and developer from Savannah, Georgia.

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The building slowdown comes as rising mortgage rates and home prices continue to discourage potential buyers, said Joel Berner, senior economic research analyst for Realtor.com.