Home builder confidence in the new, single-family construction market hit a springtime high in the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The Index reading for November was 70, the highest since March and up two points from October. An above-50 reading indicates more builders have a positive outlook than a negative one.
“November’s builder confidence reading is close to a post-recession high—a strong indicator that the housing market continues to grow steadily,” said Granger MacDonald, chairman of the NAHB, in a statement. “However, our members still face supply-side constraints, such as lot and labor shortages and ongoing building material price increases.”
Home builders’ expectations regarding present and expected single-family home sales both rose and fell in November, up two points to 77 and down one point to 77, in order, while expected homebuyer traffic rose two points to 50.
“Demand for housing is increasing at a consistent pace, driven by job and economic growth, rising homeownership rates and limited housing inventory,” said Robert Dietz, chief economist of the NAHB. “With these economic fundamentals in place, we should see continued upward movement of the single-family housing market as we close out 2017.”
Source: National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
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