Notching its highest reading since Nov. of 2005, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) tells MHProNews builder confidence in the market for single-family homes rose four points to 59. The HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales, sales expectations for the next six months and traffic of prospective buyers, where any number over 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good rather than poor. “While a firming job market is helping to unleash pent-up demand for new homes and contributing to a gradual, upward trend in builder confidence, we are still not seeing much activity from first-time home buyers,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Other factors impeding the pace of the housing recovery include persistently tight credit conditions for consumers and rising costs for materials, lots and labor.” Based on a survey NAHB has been conducting for 30 years, builder confidence rose in all four regions of the U. S. in September. ##
