IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Confidence in the housing market among builders of single-family homes dropped slightly this month.
The level of confidence among homebuilders dropped two points – to 53 – according to the National Association of Home Builders /Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which was released Monday.
That’s still on the positive side of the ledger, and the national housing market is strong as the spring buying season begins, said Tom Woods, chairman of the Washington D.C. – based builders association.
Supply-chain issues, including lot and labor shortages and tight underwriting standards were responsible for the slight drop, said David Crowe, the association’s chief economist.
“These obstacles notwithstanding, are expecting solid gains in the housing market this year, buoyed by sustained job growth, low mortgage interest rates and pent-up demand.”
Two of the three components in the index fell in March: current sales dropped three points, to 58, and overall buyer traffic fell two points, to 37. Sales expectations during the next six months remained the same, at 59, according to the index.
