A modest month-over-month decline in the confidence level of home builders was reported, though the sector is more optimistic than a year ago.
An indication of
how U.S. home builders view the single-family housing market, the Housing Market Index, was calculated to be 67 as of June 2017.
The level of builder confidence retreated compared to the preceding month, when the index landed at a downwardly revised
level of 69.
The most-recent index was reported Thursday by
Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders. The index was derived from an NAHB survey.
Despite the month-over-month descension, any index that is greater than 50 is an indication that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
In addition, an increase in builder confidence was noted versus the same month in 2016, when the index was just 60.
A two-point reduction from May 2017 was reported in the three-month moving average for the Northeast, leaving the index there at just 46. Also down two points was the average for the West, which came in at 76.
A one-point drop left the average at 67 in the Midwest and 70 in the South.
The U.S. Housing Market Index is comprised of three components — each which retreated two points from a month earlier. The component measuring buyer traffic was 49 as of June 2017, while the component gauging current sales conditions was 73, and the component charting sales expectations for the next six months was 76.
