The newest National Association of Home
Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index declined one point to 13 - the index’s
lowest mark since March 2009.
Builders aren’t very
confident about the market for new homes right now, according to a new survey
from the NAHB.
The newest National
Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index declined one
point to 13 - the index’s lowest mark since March 2009. Any number over 50 says
most builders feel positive about the market.
"Builders are
expressing the same concerns that they are hearing from consumers right now,
particularly the sense that the overall economy and job market aren't gaining
any traction," said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a builder from Bloomfield
Hills, Mich. "Meanwhile, many continue to report that problems with
inaccurate appraisals, competition from the large number of distressed
properties on the market, and tight consumer lending conditions are causing
them to lose potential sales."
NAHB chief economist David
Crowe said the survey’s results show that many home builders are struggling.
"Today's report
reflects single-family home builders' concerns about current and future
economic conditions and about the increasing hesitancy they are seeing among
potential home buyers," Crowe said. "It also reflects the frustration
that builders are feeling regarding the effects that foreclosed property sales
are having on the new-homes market, with 87 percent of respondents reporting
that their market has been negatively impacted by foreclosures."
Crowe added that he expects
the market to get a little better in the last months of this year.