U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in May decreased eight points from April to 69 and the fifth straight monthly decline, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component gauging current sales conditions dropped eight points to 78 and the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months fell 10 points to 63 in May. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic shrunk nine points from April to 52.
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
