Housing Market Index drops due to hurricane uncertainty
Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell three points from 67 to 64 in September, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
“The recent hurricanes have intensified our members’ concerns about the availability of labor and the cost of building materials,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas. “Once the rebuilding process is underway, I expect builder confidence will return to the high levels we saw this spring.”
All three HMI components posted losses in September. The component gauging current sales conditions fell four points to 70 and the index charting sales expectations in the next six months dropped four points to 74. The component measuring buyer traffic dipped one point to 47.
The NAHB noted that while all HMI components declined, they remain at healthy levels.
“Despite this month’s drop, builder confidence is still on very firm ground,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “With ongoing job creation, economic growth and rising consumer confidence, we should see the housing market continue to recover at a gradual, steady pace throughout the rest of the year.”
Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the West rose three points to 77 and the Northeast increased one point to 49. The South dropped one point to 66 and the Midwest fell three points to 63.
