U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in August decreased one point from July to 32, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the sixteenth straight month of readings below the 50 no-change mark. The HMI component gauging current sales conditions also declined one point to 35, and the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months was unchanged at 43 in August. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic increased two points from July but remained low at 22.
Derived from a monthly NAHB survey, the HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months. Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index, where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good rather than poor. See NAHB