U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in April was 34, down four points from March, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component gauging current sales conditions also declined four points from March to 37, while the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months fell seven points to 42 in April. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic decreased three points from March to 22.
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