Nationwide builder confidence has risen for the third straight month. Builder confidence for new, single family homes has gone up two points (up from 21) according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for December. Since May of 201o this is the 3rd consecutive month that confidence has improved among home builders.
“While builder confidence remains low, the consistent gains registered over the past several months are an indication that pockets of recovery are slowly starting to emerge in scattered housing markets,” said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev. “However, the difficulties that both builders and buyers continue to experience in accessing credit for new homes are holding back potential sales even in areas where economic conditions are improving.”
“This is the first time that builder confidence has improved for three consecutive months since mid-2009, which signifies a legitimate though slowly emerging upward trend,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “While large inventories of foreclosed properties continue to plague the most distressed markets and consumer worries about job security and the challenges of selling an existing home remain significant factors, builders are reporting more inquiries and more interest among potential buyers than they have seen in previous months.”
Builder confidence in the Midwest held unchanged at 24, in the Northeast confidence slipped one point to 15, the West sara a one point gain to 16 and in the South there was a four point gain to 25.