Urethane Blog

Homebuilder Confidence Grows

September 19, 2016

Home builder confidence roars to a cycle high in September, NAHB says

Published: Sept 19, 2016 10:02 a.m. ET

“More serious buyers” are turning out, a builder industry group said.

By

AndreaRiquier

Getty Images

A worker builds a new home at a Pulte Homes housing development in Phoenix, Arizona.

Home builder confidence surged in September to match its highest reading in a decade, an industry group said Monday.

The National Association of Home Builders’ index jumped six points to 65 in September. That was the highest since last October, which was the highest since the height of the housing boom. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 60 reading.

The gauge of current sales conditions soared 6 points to a cycle high of 71 and the index of future sales jumped 5 points, also touching 71. The index that tracks buyer traffic rose four points to 48. It hasn’t topped the neutral 50 mark since mid-2005.

In a release, NAHB noted that builder sentiment is being bolstered by the presence of “more serious buyers.”

The Commerce Department releases August housing starts data Tuesday, and the median forecast is for a 1.19 million pace, down a bit from the 1.21 million notched in July. Also on Tuesday, two big builders, Lennar LEN, +2.26%   and KB Home KBH, +3.76%  , will report third-quarter earnings.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-builder-confidence-roars-to-a-cycle-high-in-september-nahb-says-2016-09-19?siteid=bullytweet

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