U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Shows Continued Improvement
October 16 2019 - 6:27AM
RTTF2
Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly climbed to its
highest level in well over a year in the month of October, the
National Association of Home Builders revealed in a report on
Wednesday.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index jumped
to 71 in October after inching up to 68 in September. Economists
had expected the index to come in unchanged from the previous
month.
With the unexpected increase, the housing market index rose for
the fourth straight month and reached its highest level since
hitting a matching reading in February of 2018.
"The second half of 2019 has seen steady gains in single-family
construction, and this is mirrored by the gradual uptick in builder
sentiment over the past few months," said NAHB Chief Economist
Robert Dietz.
He added, "However, builders continue to remain cautious due to
ongoing supply side constraints and concerns about a slowing
economy."
The continued increase by the housing market index reflected
gains by all three component indices, with the index measuring
sales expectations in the next six months surging up to 76 in
October from 70 in September.
The measure charting traffic of prospective buyers also jumped
to 54 in October from 50 in September, while the index gauging
current sales conditions increased to 78 from 75.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a
separate report on new residential construction in the month of
September.
Economists expect housing starts to dip to an annual rate of
1.320 million in September after soaring to a rate of 1.364 million
in August.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, are
also expected to drop to a rate of 1.350 million in September after
jumping to a rate of 1.419 million in the previous month.
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