U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in November was 38, up one point from October, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the nineteenth straight month of readings below the 50 no-change mark, but the highest confidence level in six months. The HMI component gauging current sales conditions gained two points to 41, while the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months slipped three points to 51 in November. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic rose one point from October to 26.
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