With June came great news for the housing market.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced that “builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes hit a significant milestone” this month. This breakthrough is the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reading of 52, which indicates that more builders see housing sales conditions as good rather than poor.
Any reading over 50 signifies favorable conditions. The HMI has not been above 50 since 2006.
A recent CNNMoney article quotes NAHB’s chief economist David Crowe on the issue. “It’s further confirmation of what we’ve felt for six months at least — that the housing market is back and will continue to improve,” he said.
As the NAHB news release explains, the HMI results from a survey NAHB has conducted for 25 years to measure builders’ perceptions of the market, which are categorized as “good”, “fair”, or “poor”. Because June is usually a slow month for builders, the milestone reading is quite promising.
In the NAHB news release, Crowe reiterates that the report’s findings are extremely positive: “Today’s report is consistent with our forecast for a 29 percent increase in total housing starts this year, which would mark the first time since 2007 that starts have topped the 1 million mark,” he explained.
To view HMI tables, visit www.nahb.org/hmi. For more valuable information on the housing market, visit http://www.nahb.org.
Photo Above: Architectural renderings for a concept to develop an estate of approximately 20,000 square feet on three levels with city views at 1054 Shadow Hills Way, Beverly Hills.
