U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in June fell two points from May to 32, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the third lowest reading since 2012, including a score of 30 in April 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. The HMI component gauging current sales conditions dropped two points to 35, and the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months shrank two points to 40 in June. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic also declined two points from May to 21.
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