U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes remained unchanged in December at 46, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component that tracks current sales was 48, also marking no change from November, while the measurement of sales expectations for the next six months increased three points to 66 in December. The prospective buyer traffic component was 31, dipping one point from November.
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
