U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in August was 35, up one point from July but marking the 16th consecutive month below 40, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component gauging current sales conditions climbed two points from July to 39. In August, the six-month sales expectations measurement and the component measuring prospective buyer traffic were both unchanged from the prior month at 43 and 23, respectively.
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