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Builders reported more widespread labor shortages in September 2026, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey. Shortages averaged 47% across nine consistently tracked trades, while the median reported increase in labor costs for the same home over 12 months was 4.2%.
Homebuilding labor shortages became more widespread in September, with 47% of builders reporting a shortage across nine consistently tracked trades, up from 42% in April 2025, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey. Builders also reported a 4.2% median rise in labor costs for the same home over the previous 12 months, adding pressure to construction schedules and budgets.
The survey asked builders about shortages in 16 specific trades, counting both serious shortages and some shortages. Responses ranged from 33% for excavators and building maintenance managers to 58% for workers performing finished carpentry. Shortage reports rose at least slightly in 14 of the 16 trades compared with the prior survey in April 2025.
The largest increases were for framing crews, up 9 percentage points to 57%; landscaping workers, up 7 points to 39%; and roofers, up 6 points to 36%. Reports for plumbers and HVAC workers were unchanged at 45% and 43%, respectively. These figures describe the share of surveyed builders reporting shortages, not the share of workers missing from the labor force.
For the nine trades tracked consistently since 1996, the shortage measure rose from 42% in April 2025 to 47% in September 2026. The survey also found that the median labor-cost increase for building the same home over the preceding year was 4.2%. The supplied report does not provide a breakdown of that cost measure by trade or region.
How Shortages Can Affect Building
Labor availability and pay affect how quickly builders can complete homes and how much construction costs. Shortages reported among framing crews and finished carpenters, for example, may constrain work at different stages of a project; the survey records builders’ assessments, however, and does not quantify resulting delays, cancellations or price changes.
The combination of more reported shortages and higher labor costs is relevant to builders, suppliers and prospective buyers because labor is part of the cost and capacity of home construction. The results do not establish how much of any change in home prices is attributable to labor, or whether all builders and markets face the same conditions.
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Shortages Against Recent Building Trends
Reported residential construction labor shortages rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, then declined consistently from 2022 through 2025, before moving higher in the September 2026 survey. The new result reverses that recent direction, although the source material does not specify why shortages increased.
The nine-trade average of 47% also exceeds the levels recorded during the 2004–2006 housing boom, when annual housing starts were consistently above 1.8 million. The report contrasts that period with August 2026, when housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate below 1.3 million. These different measures and time periods provide context, but do not by themselves explain the current labor situation.
What the Survey Does Not Establish
The reported results do not identify why shortages increased, how shortages vary by location, or how many workers builders need to fill open positions. The source also gives no detailed methodology, sample size or confidence range, so the results should be read as survey responses rather than a census of the construction workforce.
It is also unclear whether the reported cost increase will continue, how it varies among builders, or how much it affects final home prices. The survey documents labor-cost changes for the same home but does not separate labor from other construction expenses or forecast future costs.
The Next Builder Survey Results
The September figures provide a snapshot of builders’ reported conditions; they do not show whether shortages will keep rising. Future NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI surveys will indicate whether the increases persist, ease or spread further across trades. Comparisons with subsequent housing-starts data may also help readers follow building activity alongside builders’ labor reports.
Until those updates are available, the confirmed picture is limited to the latest survey: shortages increased in most listed trades compared with April 2025, and builders reported a 4.2% median annual rise in labor costs for the same home. The source provides no specific date for the next survey release.
Key Questions
How many builders reported labor shortages?
In the September 2026 survey, the shortage share across nine consistently tracked trades averaged 47%, compared with 42% in April 2025. The survey also covered 16 trades, with results ranging from 33% to 58%.
Which trades had the biggest increases?
Framing crews had the largest increase, rising 9 percentage points to 57%. Landscaping shortages rose 7 points to 39%, and roofer shortages rose 6 points to 36%.
How much did reported labor costs rise?
Builders reported a 4.2% median increase in labor costs for the same home over the previous 12 months. The supplied report does not give regional or trade-specific cost figures.
Does the survey show that home prices will rise?
No. It reports builder responses on labor shortages and labor costs, but does not forecast home prices or measure how much labor costs affect them. The results do not show that every builder or market faces the same conditions.
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