The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index measures builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes. In January, the index rose for the fourth consecutive month and reached its highest level since June 2007. Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said the latest improvements to builder confidence reached every component and region and comes on the heels of several months of gains in single-family housing starts and sales. According to Nielsen, a gradual but steady improvement is beginning to take hold in an increasing number of housing markets nationwide. Component indexes measuring current sales conditions, expectations for the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers all improved in January. Among regions, the West saw a five point gain while the Northeast index rose by nine points. The South gained two points and the Midwest posted a one point gain over December’s level. More here.
