Home builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose for the fourth consecutive month, reaching an eight-year high, the National Association of Home Builders reported recently
The NAHB Housing Market Index rose by three points to 59 for August, the highest level since 2005; any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. The component gauging current sales conditions rose by three points to 62, while the component gauging sales expectations in the next six months rose by one point to 68 and the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers held unchanged at 45.
NAHB said all but one region saw a gain in its three-month moving average HMI score in August. The Midwest and West each posted six-point increases, to 60 and 57, respectively, while the South posted a four-point gain to 54 and the Northeast held unchanged at 39.
“Builders are seeing more motivated buyers walk through their doors than they have in quite some time,” says NAHB Chairman Rick Judson, a home builder from Charlotte, N.C. “What’s more, firming home prices and thinning inventories of homes for sale are contributing to an increased sense of urgency among those who are in the market.”
The report came out ahead of this morning’s New Residential Construction report from HUD and the Census Bureau, which measures July new housing starts, completions and permits.
