Builder confidence down in April
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Builder confidence in the newly built, single-family homes market dipped back to 16 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for April. The index has now held at 16 for five of the last six months.

“While builders in some areas are starting to see a pickup in traffic of prospective home buyers, many consumers remain skittish about the health of the housing market and overall economy, particularly in view of recent legislative and regulatory proposals that could make it much harder to get a mortgage,” noted NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. “At the same time, builders are competing against a large number of foreclosed and distressed properties on the market, which are holding down prices and appraisals and making it tough for potential clients to sell their existing homes.”

One factor effecting builder confidence is the slow start to the home buying season, which has also been impacted by restrictive lending requirements for home buyers and builders and slow economic recovery
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Posted by Michaelle Bradford
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