U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes fell five points in February to 42, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component that tracks current sales was 46, decreasing four points from January, while the measurement of sales expectations for the next six months dropped 13 points to 46 in February. The prospective buyer traffic component was 29, three points lower than January.
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
