Home Building Confidence Down, For Now

National home builder confidence has experience a decrease of three points following the events of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, according to the September National Association of Home Builders/Well Fargo Housing Market index (NAHB).

Yet, NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz remains optimistic in the face of the downturn. “Despite this month’s drop, builder confidence is still on very firm ground. With ongoing job creation, economic growth, and rising consumer confidence, we should see the housing market continue to recover at a gradual, steady pace throughout the rest of the year."

The survey, which has been conducted for 30 years, aims to gauge current and future single-family home sales, as well as the prospect for future buyers for the next six months on a three-tiered scale. According to the report, all three reports experienced drops in September. Current sales fell by four points, landing at 70, and expectations for sales in the next six months also dropped four points, ending at 74. Expectations for future buyers dropped a single point to 47.

“The recent hurricanes have intensified our members’ concerns about the availability of labor and the cost of building materials,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald. “Once the rebuilding process is underway, I expect builder confidence will return to the high levels we saw this spring.”

Statistical information for the report is based on a seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average. Regionally, the South and the Midwest dropped one and three points, respectively, to 66 and 63, while the West and the Northeast showed gains of three points and one point, settling at 77 and 49 points.

You can read the full press release here. The full data chart is available following this link.