U.S. homes "too expensive to buy" due to inventory shortage: Nikkei

TOKYO, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A shortage of homes for sale in the United States pushes up home prices, making it increasingly hard for Americans to buy one, a leading Japanese daily has reported.

Low inventory has pushed up existing home prices to record highs, while labor shortage at construction sites and soaring material prices have made it difficult for new home supply to pick up, said Nihon Keizai Shimbun in a recent report.

The U.S. Commerce Department statistics for June showed that housing starts, a measure of U.S. homebuilding, dropped by 8 percent on the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units, said the report.

Market distortions caused by rising home prices despite interest rate hikes could become a long-term factor, putting pressure on household budgets and, in turn, overall consumption levels, it said.

More attention should be paid to lower-income groups, whose dissatisfaction with the Joe Biden administration is likely to increase, as household finances are squeezed, it added.