A month-over-month improvement in home builder confidence was led by the Northeast, though there are still more pessimistic builders in the region than optimistic.
As of this month, the
Housing Market Index — a gauge of single-family builders’ perception of the market for new homes — came in at 68.
Any index that is greater than 50 indicates that more builders view market conditions as good than those who view them as poor.
The index, which was jointly produced by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo, increased four points from July — when it tumbled to the lowest since November 2016.
Builder confidence is solidly higher than the same month last year, when the index stood at 59.
Using a three-month moving average, a one-point increase from the preceding month in the Northeast was the biggest of any region. But the index there only landed at 48 — indicating there are still fewer builders who see conditions as good than poor.
No changes left the West’s index at 75, the South’s index at 67 and the Midwest’s index at 66.
The U.S. index is comprised of three components, including
prospective buyer traffic, which climbed one point from July to 49. The index gauging current sales conditions ascended four points to 74, while the index measuring expectations for the next six months was 78, jumping five points — more than any other component.
