U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in December increased one point from November to 84, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component gauging current sales conditions grew one point to 90 and the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months remained at 84 for the third straight month. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic gained one point from November to 70.
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
