NAHB Builder Confidence Remains at Record Low in December

By: •

Confidence amongst homebuilders failed to improve in December, after plummeting to a new all-time low in November. Though the headline result remained the same, two of the three components reported more pessimistic results than in November.

Issued by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the housing market index remained at a reading of 9 in December, following the 5-point drop from October to November.

Over the past three years, the index has fallen from 61 to 9. A rating above 50 indicates optimism from homebuilders; below 50 indicates pessimism. The all-time low before the current credit crunch was 19.

The index, which has a 22-year history, consists of three components.

The sales expectations component fell two points to 16 in December, while the present housing component for single-family homes fell one point to 7. The only component to remain unchanged was the traffic of prospective buyers index, which remains at 7.

By Patrick McGee and edited by Stephen Huebl
©CEP News Ltd. 2008