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D.R. Horton CEO Auld calls it \u201cforeign to us,\u201d but his company is turning away qualified buyers due to construction supply shortages and a thin labor force.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n NEW YORK \u2013 To catch up with the rapid number of sales they\u2019ve made over recent months, many home builders have stopped taking new orders \u2013 an unprecedented move in the industry.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Builders face numerous challenges just to complete projects already in the pipeline \u2013 material costs are surging or its in short supply, and labor shortages are holding activity back.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThrough our history, to have somebody walk into our models and [to have to] tell them, \u2018We don\u2019t have a house for you to buy today,\u2019 is something that is foreign to us,\u201d says David Auld, CEO of D.R. Horton Inc.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The move could also cost new-home buyers more money. If builders restrict the number of homes for sale, it prompts additional increases in new-home prices. In June, the median price of a newly built single-family home was $361,800, a 6.1% increase from a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Some individual builders report even higher price jumps. For example, Taylor Morrison Home Corp. has reported its average sales price in the second quarter surged 9.8% over the past year. The average price for new orders jumped 31.8%, The Wall Street Journal reported.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBecause builders are intentionally not selling, it\u2019s creating a lot of pricing power,\u201d says Alan Ratner, managing director at Zelman & Associates, a real estate research and advisory firm.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Some builders still selling are limiting new orders, while others are selling homes on a first-come, first-served basis \u2013 or holding lotteries. Other builders ask buyers to bid above list price on new homes, another unprecedented move akin to the existing-home sales market. Still others wait until homes are partially or fully built and pricing at levels then available on the open market to avoid locking in a price months ahead of time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n