Homebuilder confidence fell for the fourth month in a row in April, according to the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders…(NAHB)
- M-O-M: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Market Index fell two points to 77 which is what economists had expected and this is the lowest level since September 2021.
- Y-O-Y: Homebuilder confidence is down five points when compared to April 2021.
This month’s decline was actually the result of a lack of confidence in prospective buyers…
- The Traffic of Prospective Buyers index fell six points to 60, this is the lowest level since September 2021.
- The Present Index fell two points in April to 85, this is the second month in a row it has declined by two points.
- The Next 6 Month Index was actually up 3 points to 73 after a ten-point drop in March.
Regionally, the West continues to hold the top spot despite a seven-point decline to 84 in April, this is the lowest reading since September 2021…
- The South was a close second with an index of 84 followed by the Northeast with an impressive jump up to 74(+9) and the Midwest saw a massive 13-point drop to 61.
I noticed that a lot of data points in April seemed to match data that was being reported in September of last year. If you remember, that was when talks of a slowdown began. A few months later, we did, in fact, see that slowdown. Unfortunately, soon after, things began ramping back up at the end of January and have stayed elevated ever since. This seems to indicate that rising rates are having their desired effect. Demand is starting to wane which is helping to cool the market off as supply continues to try to catch up.