U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in July rose one point from June to 56, marking the seventh consecutive month of improvement, 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 62, while the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months dropped two points to 60 in July. The prospective buyer traffic component was 40, three points higher than June.
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
