U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in September decreased five points from August to 45, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component gauging current sales conditions dropped six points to 51 and the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months also fell six points to 49 in September. The prospective buyer traffic component was 30, five points lower than 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
