U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Declines In July
July 18 2017 - 6:14AM
RTTF2
Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly declined in the
month of July, according to a report released by the National
Association of Home Builders on Tuesday.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index
dropped to 64 in July from a revised 66 in June. Economists had
expected the index to hold at the 67 originally reported for the
previous month.
"Our members are telling us they are growing increasingly
concerned over rising material prices, particularly lumber," said
NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald.
He added, "This is hurting housing affordability even as
consumer interest in the new-home market remains strong."
The unexpected decline by the housing market index reflected
decreases by all three of the component indexes.
The index gauging current sales conditions and the index
charting sales expectations in the next six months both fell by two
points to 70 and 73, respectively. The component measuring buyer
traffic slipped one point to 48.
On Wednesday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release
its report on new residential construction in the month of
June.
Housing starts are expected to climb to an annual rate of 1.150
million in June after tumbling to a rate of 1.092 millions in
May.
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