by Calculated Risk on 11/16/2006 02:26:00 PM

From NAHB: Builder Confidence Improves in November

Click on graph for larger image.

... home builder confidence in November edged up for the second consecutive month, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI gained two points from the previous month to stand at 33.
...
Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for almost 20 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as either “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

All three component indexes moved higher in November, including a one-point gain in the current sales index, to 33. The component gauging sales expectations for the next six months rose four points to 46 and the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers moved up three points from last month, to 26.
...
On a regional basis, the HMI for builders in the Northeast rose two points to 37 and posted a two-point gain in the South, to 40. The HMI for builders in the Midwest and West declined by two points to 16, and by one point to 34, respectively.