Confidence among U.S. home builders worsened in September for a ninth consecutive month, falling to its lowest level since May 2020, in a further sign the housing market slowdown hasn't bottomed out yet, data from a survey from the National Association of Home Builders showed Monday. Here are the report's main takeaways:
--The NAHB's housing-market index--which gauges the single-family housing market--decreased to 46 in September from 49 in August. A number below 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as poor rather than good.
--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the index to decline to 47.
--"Builder sentiment has declined every month in 2022, and the housing recession shows no signs of abating as builders continue to grapple with elevated construction costs and an aggressive monetary policy from the Federal Reserve that helped pushed mortgage rates above 6% last week, the highest level since 2008," NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said.
--"Buyer traffic is weak in many markets as more consumers remain on the sidelines due to high mortgage rates and home prices that are putting a new home purchase out of financial reach for many households," NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter said. Almost 25% of builders said they reduced home prices in September, up from 19% in August, he said.
--All three components of the index declined in September compared with the prior month. The index measuring current sales fell three points to 54, signaling the amount of transactions was on average perceived as "fair." Sales expectations in the next six months declined one point to 46, while the measure gauging traffic of prospective buyers decreased one point to 31, suggesting home-builders see sales expectations as "poor" and buyer traffic as "low to very low."
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