U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes grew two points in September to 41, marking the first increase in five months, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). NAHB reported that lower mortgage rates improved builders’ outlook. The HMI component that tracks current sales was up one point to 45, while the measurement of sales expectations for the next six months rose four points to 53 in September. The prospective buyer traffic component was 27, strengthening two points from August.
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
