NAHB Housing Index falls to 24 vs 28 consensus; lowest level since Jan 1991....
US NAHB Jul Housing Index 24 Vs 28 In Jun
Jul 17 at 13:00
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Home builder confidence, as measured by a trade group index, fell to the
lowest point in 16 years this July, amid concerns about rising interest rates and continued problems in the subprime
mortgage market.
The National Association of Home Builders' index for sales of new, single- family homes decreased in July to
24 from 28 in June, according to data released Tuesday.
The reading of 24 marked the lowest point in the index since January 1991.
"The bottom line is that the single-family housing market is still in a correction process following the historic and
unsustainable highs of the 2003- 2005 period," NAHB chief economist David Seiders said in a statement.
"Builders are actively trimming prices and offering buyer incentives to work down their inventories, but
meanwhile there is a large supply of vacant existing homes on the market, and affordability problems persist despite
efforts to attract buyers," Seiders added.
Still, Seiders said the market may turn around toward the end of this year.
"In spite of these challenges, we expect to see home sales get back on an upward path late this year and we
expect housing starts to begin a gradual recovery process by early next year," he said.
Within the NAHB's housing market index, the component for present sales of single-family homes fell to 24 in
July from 29 in June.
Expectations for sales in the next six months dropped in July to 34 from 39 in June, the NAHB said. The traffic
of prospective buyers slipped to 19 from 22.
The index in July was based on a survey of 330 home builders, who answer questions about sales prospects
now and in the near term. When the Housing Market Index exceeds 50, it means the number of builders who see
'good' sales outnumber the number who see 'poor' sales. The numbers used in compiling the index are adjusted for
seasonal variations.