By Dan Weil ‘The housing market is facing growing challenges,’ says National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz. Soaring home prices and mortgage rates, along with a lack of home inventory, have made life difficult for prospective home buyers. Here’s another negative development. The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index fell eight points to 69 in May. The index measures builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes. It’s the fifth straight month of decline for the Index, taking it to the lowest level since June 2020. “The hous…