The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently released the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) which shows builder confidence up for December 2023.

 
Amid a four-month decline in builder confidence and dipping mortgage rates, this economic data shows improvement in housing conditions.

"With mortgage rates down roughly 50 basis points over the past month, builders are reporting an uptick in traffic as some prospective buyers who previously felt priced out of the market are taking a second look," said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, "With the nation facing a considerable housing shortage, boosting new home production is the best way to ease the affordability crisis, expand housing inventory and lower inflation."

This comes after historic mortgage rates hit a 23-year high above 7% in October, 2023 that left builder confidence blundering. Even now, mortgage rates were still above seven throughout November per Freddie Mac, however many builders are continuing to reduce home prices to boost sales. In December, 36% reported cutting home prices.

Currently, the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores shows that the Northeast increased two points to 51 while, the Midwest fell one point to 34, the South dipped three points to 39, and the West held a four-point drop to 31 points.