The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released the builder confidence numbers for newly built single-family homes in June. Coming in at 32 points, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) has only posted a lower reading since 2012.

 

In December 2022, the index hit 31, while in April 2020 it dropped to 30 after experiencing a 40-point decrease - marking the two lowest readings.

"Buyers are increasingly moving to the sidelines due to elevated mortgage rates and tariff and economic uncertainty," said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes, a home builder and developer from Lexington, North Carolina. "To help address affordability concerns and bring hesitant buyers off the fence, a growing number of builders are moving to cut prices."

Further, the three major indexes posted losses in June - current sales conditions fell two points to 35, sale expectations in the next six months dropped two points to 40, and prospective buyer traffic posted a two-point decline to 21. Meanwhile, three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores show that the Northeast fell one point to 43, the Midwest saw an uptick of one point to 41, the South dropped three to 33, and the West declined four points to 28.