This Monday saw the release of the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), which indicated that builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes in August rose to its highest reading in nearly ten years. Here are some of the details of the report, from The Wall Street Journal.
A gauge of homebuilder sentiment rose to its highest level since November 2005, reflecting growing confidence in a steadily improving U.S. housing market.
An index of builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes rose one point to a seasonally adjusted level of 61 in August, the National Association of Home Builders said Monday. A reading over 50 means most builders generally see conditions as positive.
The index has been positive for the past year, following five months in early 2014 when sentiment hovered in negative territory.
”The overall message from the survey…is very upbeat,” wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a client note. “We see nothing here to change our view that a real recovery in the housing market is finally under way.”
With the Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates as early as September, economists said potential homeowners are hoping to get into the housing market before mortgage rates rise and mortgages get more expensive.
The current-sales component of the index rose this month to 66 from 65 in July. Expectations for sales over the next six months stayed steady at 70. A measure of traffic from prospective buyers rose two points to 45.
