NAHB: Builder Confidence Holds Steady in March
BRADY WASHINGTON, March 15 - Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes was unchanged in March at a level of 58 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). "Confidence levels are hovering above the 50-point mid-range, indicating that the single-family market continues to make slow but steady progress," said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill. "However, builders continue to report problems regarding a shortage of lots and labor." "While builder sentiment has been relatively flat for the last few months, the March HMI reading correlates with NAHB's forecast of a steady firming of the single-family sector in 2016," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "Solid job growth, low mortgage rates and improving mortgage availability will help keep the housing market on a gradual upward trajectory in the coming months." Derived from a m...