Home builders are expected to slow down. That’s bad news for America’s massive housing shortage.

The numbers: Construction of new homes rose 11.2% in February as builders coming off a harsh winter ramped up new projects. But most economists expect home builders to pull back in the coming months, which could worsen the housing-affordability crisis in the United States.

In February, housing starts rose to a 1.5 million annual pace from 1.35 million the previous month, the government said Tuesday. That’s how many houses would be built over an entire year if construction took place at the same rate every month as it did in February. 

February’s new-home construction was down 2.9% from a year ago.

Builders accelerated the construction of new homes following a tough winter when many had to halt work. The data indicated that housing starts rose strongly in the Northeast and in the South as builders restarted work after January’s severe weather eased. 

But “with tariff concerns continuing to weigh on homebuilders’ confidence, a slowdown in construction looks likely in the second half of this year,” Harry Chambers, an assistant economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.