Homebuilder confidence kept the positive streak alive as homebuilder confidence climbed for the third month, according to the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders.
- M-O-M: Homebuilder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes jumped to 44, up two points from February and is now the highest level since September 2022.
- Y-O-Y: Despite the third straight positive month homebuilder confidence is still down 39 points from the same time last year.
Confidence Now. Builders are feeling much better about the state of the economy as confidence in current single-family sales jumped two points to an index of 49, the highest level since last September. The traffic of prospective buyers also saw its index increase to the highest level since September at 31.
- Confidence about single-family sales in the next six months fell for the first time in three months with a one-point drop to 47.
South Saves The Day. The only reason national confidence for builders climbed was because of the South, which increased for the fourth straight month and hit the break-even point of 50 in March. No other region saw an increase in March.
- The Northeast held at 46 and while the West fell one point to 36 and the Midwest fell one point to 35.
Analysis. Robert Dietz, NAHB Chief Economist, says that rates might get a lot of the headlines but for housing it is still all about inventory. “While financial system stress has recently reduced long-term interest rates, which will help housing demand in the coming weeks, the cost and availability of housing inventory remains a critical constraint for prospective home buyers,”