Real Estate Market Trends: Builder Confidence Dips | Millionaire ...

An increasing share of home builders view prevailing real estate market trends - particularly traffic of prospective buyers - as poor in February, according to data released today by the National Association of Home Builders or NAHB.

The NAHB housing market index fell one point to 46 over the last month, a score below the break-even point of 50 that indicates equal shares of home builders view real estate market trends as positive or negative.

?Following solid gains over the past year, builder confidence has essentially leveled out and held in the same three-point range over the last four months,? Rick Judson, chairman of the NAHB, a Washington, DC-based trade association, said in a statement. ?Tight credit conditions and weak job growth are weighing on builder confidence, and Judson said, ?It?s also a reflection of the fact that builders are now confronting rising costs for building materials and, in some markets, limited availability of labor and lots as demand for new homes strengthens.?

In related news, foreclosure filings have hit a six-month low.

The index tracks builders? perceptions of three key real estate market trends, current single family home sales, sales expectations for the next six months and traffic of prospective buyers.? The latter indicator fell by four points to 32. The perception of current sales has remained above 50 for three consecutive months, but fell one point to 51 in February. The gauge of sales expectations rose by one point to 50.

?Having risen strongly in 2012, the HMI hit a slight pause in the beginning of this year as builders adjusted their expectations to reflect the pace at which consumers are moving forward on new home purchases,? David Crowe, chief economist for the NAHB, said in a statement.

In other real estate market trends, existing home prices rose 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 bringing the median home price to $178,900, yet housing affordability remains high, the National Association of Realtors reported last week.? Price increases were seen in 133 of the 152 markets tracked by the association. Click here to learn more.

Source: http://www.millionairecorner.com/article/real-estate-market-trends-builder-confidence-dips

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