Builder confidence reaches its highest reading since 2005

From the New York website: The index measuring builder confidence for the single-family home market in the United States this month jumped to its highest reading since June 2005, according to the National Association of Home builders.

During the month of March, the index reached a level of 71, the Wall Street Journal reported. A reading above 50 suggests that more builders see the conditions as good rather than poor, according to the paper.

“Builders are buoyed by President Trump’s actions on regulatory reform,” NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald told the newspaper.

Builder confidence also spiked in December, which was attributed to a post-election bump at the the time.  In January, confidence dipped amid concerns about rising interest rates, falling demand, the dwindling number of vacant lots and labor shortages.

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate to a range between 0.75 and 1 percent, and officials indicated they expect to raise rates at least twice more this year.

Builder confidence is now at its highest level since the peak of the housing bubble, according to the newspaper. [WSJ] — Miriam Hall

Original Content The Real Deal