U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in December fell 4 points from November to 86 points but was still the second highest reading in the 35-year history of the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component measuring current sales conditions dropped 4 points to 92 and sales expectations in the next six months lost 4 points from November to 85. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic also fell 4 points in December to 73.
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
