The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in the US revealed that confidence in the industry has increased six points in July to its highest level since January 2006. This is also the third consecutive month of increase in the index of newly-built, single-family homes, reaching 57 in July.
“Today’s report is particularly encouraging in that it shows improvement in builder confidence across every region as well as solid gains in current sales conditions, traffic of prospective buyers and sales expectations for the next six months,” said Rick Judson, Chairman at the NAHB.
However, the positive index is expected to face setbacks. Judson said. “This positive momentum could be disrupted by threats on the policy side, particularly with regard to the mortgage interest deduction and federal support for the housing finance system.”
All three Home Market Index (HMI) components including prospective buyers, sales expectations and current sales conditions moved up in July, with the last component increasing to its highest level since 2006.
“Builders are seeing more motivated buyers coming through their doors as the inventory of existing homes for sale continues to tighten,” said David Crowe, Chief Economist at the NAHB.
Nikki De Guzman, Junior Reporter at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg
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