Home Builder Confidence Hits Five-Month High

Oct 18, 2017

Total U.S. construction starts for 2019 will be $808 billion, according to a forecast published in Dodge Data & Analytics’ 2019 Dodge Construction Outlook

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes took a four-point ascent to a level of 68 in October on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This was the highest HMI reading since May.

All three HMI components posted gains this month: The component gauging current sales conditions rose five points to 75, the index charting sales expectations in the next six months was up by five points to 78, and the component measuring buyer traffic squeaked out a one-point uptick to 48. Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the South rose two points to 68, the Northeast rose one point to 50, and the West and Midwest remained unchanged at 77 and 63, respectively.

“This month’s report shows that home builders are rebounding from the initial shock of the hurricanes,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas. “However, builders need to be mindful of long-term repercussions from the storms, such as intensified material price increases and labor shortages.”

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Phil Hall

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Oct 18, 2017

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