Economy

NAHB Index up 4 Points

December 16, 2013

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says builder confidence in the new single-family home market is improving. The NAHB Index rose four points to a reading of 58 in December. The reading has been above 50 for seven months and is up 11 points year-over-year.

“The recent spike in mortgage interest rates has not deterred consumers as rates are still near historically low levels,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Following a two-month pause in the index, this uptick is due in part to release of the pent-up demand caused by the uncertainty generated by the October government shutdown. We continue to look for a gradual improvement in the housing recovery in the year ahead.”

All three components of the housing market index rose in December: sales conditions jumped six points to 64, expectations for future sales rose two points to 62 and traffic of prospective buyers increased three points to 44.

In the regional three-month moving averages, the South HMI rose one point to 47 while the Northeast, Midwest and West each fell a single point to 38, 59 and 59, respectively.