Builder Confidence Falls for Fourth Straight Month in March

Source: NAHB

Builder confidence declined for the fourth straight month in March, bringing the level below 80 for the first time in six months. XHB is up 2.66%, while ITB is up 2.48%.

• The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index stood at 79 in March, down by two points from the previous month.
• The latest reading is the fourth straight month of declines and the first time the level was below the 80 level since September 2021.
• The current sales conditions indicator declined by three points to 86, while the sales expectations index lost 10 points to 70.
• NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said the latest reading also indicated the lowest future sales expectations since June 2020, due to increasing construction costs.
• Dietz warned against the figures expected in the second half of the year, flagging the low inventory and high demand.
• Declines were also recorded in the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores in the Northeast, the Midwest, and the South while the West posted a slight increase.