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U.S. builder confidence drops to 4-month low due to harsh weather

Xinhua, February 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. builder confidence for newly-built, single-family homes fell in February to a four-month low due to harsh weather conditions, a leading industry report said Tuesday.

The builder sentiment index fell two points to 55 this month, the lowest level since October, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Any reading over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

"Overall, builder sentiment remains fairly solid, with this slight downturn largely attributable to the unusually high snow levels across much of the nation," said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods in a statement.

In February, the HMI index gauging view on current sales conditions dropped one point to 61, and the component measuring traffic of prospective buyers slipped five points to 39. The component gauging sales expectations for the next six months held steady at 60.

"For the past eight months, confidence levels held in the mid- to upper 50s range, which is consistent with a modest ongoing recovery," said NAHB's chief economist David Crowe, adding that the housing market will continue to improve in the year ahead, driven by "solid job growth, affordable home prices and historically low mortgage rates." Enditem