U.S. homebuilder confidence improves slightly in November

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) indicates builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved slightly in November. The index rose to 16 from a downwardly revised level of 15 in October.
NAHB chairman Bob Jones, who is a home builder in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., said. “Though the gains have been incremental, the fact that builder confidence has improved over the past two months is encouraging.”
He said that although buyer traffic through model homes has not improved, many builders report the quality of that traffic seems to be getting better. The biggest concern among builders is their frustration over the lack of available financing for new-home construction while inventories of completed new homes are quite thin.
NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said the most positive aspect of the November report is the future expectations component, which improved by an additional two points for November.
“This is the highest that component of the HMI has been since the home buyer tax credit program spurred sales activity this spring,” Crowe said. “The most concerning aspect of the report is that survey participants say they have observed absolutely no improvement in their ability to access credit to build viable new projects. This problem is clearly a roadblock to recovery in many markets.”