U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in October was 29, down three points from September, marking the lowest reading in 14 years and the 18th consecutive month below 40, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component gauging current sales conditions slipped two points from September to 33. In October, the six-month sales expectations measure and the prospective buyer traffic measure both dropped five points to 32 and 18, respectively.
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