The US housing market remains in “free fall” after a survey showed a “disastrous” decline in homebuilder confidence, a prominent economist warned on Tuesday. Homebuilder confidence plunged for the 10th consecutive month in October, falling to its lowest level since 2012, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ monthly survey. The latest downtick came as mortgage rates spiked to levels not seen since the Great Recession. The survey’s results were “disastrous” and indicated there is “no bottom yet” for the housing market’s current slump, according to Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “The plunge in the NAHB index...