U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in January was 37, down two points from December 2025, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component gauging current sales conditions slipped one point to 41, while the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months dropped three points to 49 in January. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic also fell three points from December to 23.
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