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The Week Ahead: Did Builder Confidence Bounce Back?

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will release its monthly Housing Market Index (HMI) on Tuesday, July 16. 

Builder confidence for new single-family homes fell slightly to 64 in June according to the latest data from the NAHB. 

Builder confidence fell two points in June and has held in the low- to mid-60s over the past five months, the NAHB data indicated.

While the index measuring current sales conditions fell one point to 71, the component gauging expectations in the next six months declined two points to 70. The survey charting buyer traffic decreased one point to 48, according to NAHB.

One of the reasons for the growing uncertainty among builders was concerns over the current trade issues, according to Greg Ugalde, Chairman, NAHB. “While demand for single-family homes remains sound, builders continue to report rising development and construction costs, with some additional concerns over trade issues,” Ugalde said.

Home prices remained another worrying factor for builders along with excessive regulation and labor shortage, issues that have been at the top of builders' minds since the beginning of 2019. 

“Despite lower mortgage rates, home prices remain somewhat high relative to incomes, which is particularly challenging for entry-level buyers,” said Robert Dietz, Chief Economist, NAHB. “And while new home sales picked up in March and April, builders continue to grapple with excessive regulations, a shortage of lots and lack of skilled labor that are hurting affordability and depressing supply.”

Breaking up the data by regional three-month averages, the HMI indicated that the South was the only region to indicate a fall in the indices with a single point drop to 67 in June. West remained unchanged at 71 points while the Northeast recorded a three-point gain to 60 during the month.

 

Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:

Census Bureau Housing Starts (July 17)

Fed Beige Book (July 17)

Banking Committee Hearing (July 17)

CoreLogic LoanSafe Webinar (July 18)

UofM Consumer Sentiment (July 19)

 

About Author: Mike Albanese

A graduate of the University of Alabama, Mike Albanese has worked for news publications since 2011 in Texas and Colorado. He has built a portfolio of more than 1,000 articles, covering city government, police and crime, business, sports, and is experienced in crafting engaging features and enterprise pieces. He spent time as the sports editor for the "Pilot Point Post-Signal," and has covered the DFW Metroplex for several years. He has also assisted with sports coverage and editing duties with the "Dallas Morning News" and "Denton Record-Chronicle" over the past several years.
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