Builder confidence is higher for the third straight month.
A combination of shrinking new home inventory and higher-quality foot traffic is making builders more optimistic about the future, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index
The November confidence number of 16 is the highest since June of this year. The Housing Market Index is now above its 3-year trendline, too.
The goal of the Housing Market Index is to gauge “the pulse of the single-family housing market”. The survey is sent to home builders in New Jersey and around the country, asking them to report on their business.
The survey is 3 questions:
- How are market conditions today?
- How do market conditions look 6 months from now?
- How is the prospective traffic of new buyers for new homes?
Responses are then collected, and seasonally-weighted.
Of course, it’s no surprise that builder confidence is rising. The sales of new homes spiked in September, and the jobs market is moving in the right direction. Additionally, low mortgage rates help to attract new buyers, too. Altogether, the outlook in the New Home market is as rosy as it’s been in months.
The downside for new home buyers in Ridgewood , though, is that, because of their optimism, builders may be unwilling to offer free upgrades or other discounts.
