Wimpey (George) - The UKs Leading Housebuilder

The National Association of Home Builders has just released its December housing market index



Builder Sentiment Cools Further In December

Confidence of single-family home builders slid further this month from its summer peak, yet remained well within the positive range, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for December, released today. The overall HMI declined four points from a slightly revised November number to 57, while the component measuring builder expectations for future sales held firm at 65.

“Many builders sense some tapering off of single-family buyer demand, but remain reasonably confident in the ongoing strength of their markets,” said NAHB President Dave Wilson, a custom home builder from Ketchum, Idaho. “They obviously are reacting to higher interest rates and energy costs, along with some buyer resistance to high house prices.”

“As expected, the housing market appears to be coming off the recent record pace of home sales,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Our surveys indicate that three out of every four builders are experiencing some buyer resistance to current home prices, and many are offering certain concessions to buyers in order to help maintain sales volume. NAHB’s forecast continues to anticipate an orderly cooling down process for single-family sales and production in 2006.”