WASHINGTON -- Two months after home buyer tax credits expired, builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family continues to wane.
According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), builder confidence in July slid to 14 points, the lowest point since April 2009. An HMI score above 50 indicates that builders are feeling good about new single-family home market conditions.
"We continue to see a lull in home buying activity following the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit program, as many of the sales that would have occurred this summer were likely pulled forward to meet that program's deadline," said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, MI. "In addition, builders are reporting continuing consumer hesitancy regarding home purchases due to uncertainty in the overall economy and job markets."
NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said, "The pause in sales following expiration of the home buyer tax credits is turning out to be longer than anticipated due to the sluggish pace of improvement in the rest of the economy. That said, we do believe that favorable factors such as low mortgage rates, affordable prices, and demographic trends will help revive consumer demand for new homes this year, and that new-home sales will improve by 10 percent in 2010 from 2009."
Read the National Association of Home Builders' press release.
According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), builder confidence in July slid to 14 points, the lowest point since April 2009. An HMI score above 50 indicates that builders are feeling good about new single-family home market conditions.
"We continue to see a lull in home buying activity following the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit program, as many of the sales that would have occurred this summer were likely pulled forward to meet that program's deadline," said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, MI. "In addition, builders are reporting continuing consumer hesitancy regarding home purchases due to uncertainty in the overall economy and job markets."
NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said, "The pause in sales following expiration of the home buyer tax credits is turning out to be longer than anticipated due to the sluggish pace of improvement in the rest of the economy. That said, we do believe that favorable factors such as low mortgage rates, affordable prices, and demographic trends will help revive consumer demand for new homes this year, and that new-home sales will improve by 10 percent in 2010 from 2009."
Read the National Association of Home Builders' press release.
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