Builder Confidence Down From Record High

Apr 17, 2017

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes took a dip, falling three points to a level of 68 on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) after reaching a 12-year high in March.

All three HMI components dropped from March to April: the component gauging current sales conditions fell three points to 74, the index following sales expectations in the next six months fell by three points to 75, and the component measuring buyer traffic took a one point downturn to 52. Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the West and Midwest increased by one point to 77 and 68, respectively, while the South held steady at 68 and the Northeast dropped by two points to 46.

“Even with this month’s modest drop, builder confidence is on very firm ground, and builders are reporting strong interest among potential home buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas.

About the author

Phil Hall

Link copied

Published

Apr 17, 2017

Regulation and Compliance

Mortgage Servicers Added To Junk-Fee Naughty List

New release from CFPB lays out areas of improvement, and concern, for mortgage servicers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today published new supervisory highlights describing the regulator's recent actions to combat junk fees charged by mortgage servicers, as well as other illegal practices. The CFPB has also announced that it is working to addre...

Analysis and Data

Every Dollar A Fraudster Makes, A Financial Firm Loses $4.41

U.S. investment firms and credit lenders see a 9% annual increase in the financial impact of fraud.

Overall fraud increased at least 6% for 63% of financial firms within the past year, with digital channels accounting for half of the overall fraud losses, according to LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study: Financial Services and Lending Report — US and Canada Edition. U....