by Calculated Risk on 12/18/2006 01:12:00 PM

From NAHB: Builder Confidence Holding Steady in December

At 32 for the present month, the overall HMI is down a single point from November but remains above the recent low of 30 in September.

Click on graph for larger image.

The only component index to register a decline in December was the one measuring traffic of prospective buyers which, after a three-point jump last month, returned to its October level of 23. The component gauging current single-family home sales remained even at 33, up slightly from its recent low, while the component gauging sales expectations for the next six months rose three points to 48 – its third consecutive monthly gain.

Regionally, the HMI posted the biggest gain this time around in the Midwest, which has shown the greatest weakness in this measure for many months. That region posted a 7-point gain to 22 on the confidence scale, while the Northeast was unchanged at 37, the South dropped a point to 39 and the West declined four points to 31.