Builder Confidence at Eight-Month Low

Jul 19, 2017

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes started the year on a gloomy note by dropping two points to a level of 72 in January on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI)

Builder confidence in the newly-built single-family home market dropped by two points in July to a level of 64 from a downwardly revised June reading on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the lowest HMI reading since November 2016.

All three HMI components registered took a hit: The components gauging current sales conditions fell two points to 70, the index charting sales expectations in the next six months dropped two points to 73, and the component measuring buyer traffic slipped by one point to 48.
Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast rose one point to 47, but the West and Midwest each fell one point to 75 and 66, respectively, and the South dropped three points to 67.

“Our members are telling us they are growing increasingly concerned over rising material prices, particularly lumber,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a homebuilder and developer from Kerrville, Texas. “This is hurting housing affordability even as consumer interest in the new-home market remains strong.”

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Phil Hall

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Jul 19, 2017

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