U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes fell six points in May to 34, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), marking the lowest since December 2022. The HMI component that tracks current sales was 37, decreasing eight points from April, while the measurement of sales expectations for the next six months dipped one point to 42. The prospective buyer traffic component was 23, two points lower than April.
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