Builder Confidence Takes a Hit

Sep 19, 2017

Since 2008, there have been 1.9 permits issued for single-family housing per 1,000 people, according to data from Zillow

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes dropped three points to a level of 64 in September from a downwardly revised August reading of 67, according to the latest data on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

All three HMI components declined in the latest report: The component gauging current sales conditions fell four points to 70 and the index charting sales expectations in the next six months also dipped by four points to 74. The component measuring buyer traffic saw a single point drop to 47. Two of the regional HMI scores were up—the West increased three points to 77 and the Northeast rose one point to 49—while the South dropped by one point to 66 and the Midwest fell three points to 63.

“The recent hurricanes have intensified our members’ concerns about the availability of labor and the cost of building materials,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas. “Once the rebuilding process is underway, I expect builder confidence will return to the high levels we saw this spring.”

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Phil Hall

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Sep 19, 2017

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