Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose six points to 35 on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for July – the largest one-month gain recorded by the index in nearly a decade. This also brings the HMI to its highest point since March 2007.
Every HMI component recorded gains in July. The components gauging current sales conditions and traffic of prospective buyers each rose six points, to 37 and 29, respectively, while the component gauging sales expectations for the next six months rose 11 points to 44.
Likewise, every region posted HMI gains in July. The Northeast registered an eight-point gain to 36, while the Midwest gained three points to 34, the South gained five points to 32 and the West gained 12 points to 44.
‘Builder confidence increased by solid margins in every region of the country in July as views of current sales conditions, prospects for future sales and traffic of prospective buyers all improved,’ says Barry Rutenberg, NAHB chairman and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. ‘This is greater evidence that the housing market has turned the corner as more buyers perceive the benefits of purchasing a newly built home while interest rates and prices are so favorable.’