U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in September was 32, marking no change from August, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the seventeenth straight month of readings below the 50, no-change mark. The HMI component gauging current sales conditions remained at 34, while the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months increased two points to 45 in September. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic dipped one point from August 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