”The November report is pullback from an unusually high October, and is more in line with the consistent, modest growth that we have seen throughout the year,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “A firming economy, continued job creation and affordable mortgage rates should keep housing on an upward trajectory as we approach 2016.”
NAHB Chairman Tom Woods echoed a sentiment heard often in past months: Lots and labor are not always plentiful.
The measure of builder expectations for sales in the coming six months fell five points, but is still at 70. Builder sense of present sales conditions dropped three points to 67, and the measure of buyer traffic rose a point to 48.
Fueled by strong home sales, low interest rates and a growing labor market—which eventually translates into more home sales—rising sentiment could feed into a pickup in construction. Although the number of housing starts has more than doubled since the depths of the recession, it continues to remain roughly half of its high point in 2006, and historically weak. ##
(Graphic credit: housingwire)
