Builder confidence soars in July

Builders’ confidence in the U.S. housing market soared in July as sales and home prices showed continued strength.

A housing market index by the National Assn. of Home Builders rose six points to a reading of 57 in July. Any reading above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions favorably than not.

“Today’s report is particularly encouraging in that it shows improvement in builder confidence across every region as well as solid gains in current sales conditions, traffic of prospective buyers and sales expectations for the next six months,� Rick Judson, chairman of the builders association, said in a news release.

It was the third consecutive increase, and the strongest level for the index since January 2006. The index is derived from a monthly survey of home builders nationally, which asks them to rate perceptions of current sales for single-family homes, expectations for the next six months and to rate the level of traffic of prospective buyers through home-buying projects.

All three of these components posted gains this month and all four U.S. regions tracked by the index showed improvement. The West was up three points to 51, the South five points to 50, the Midwest registered an eight-point gain to 54 and the Northeast was up four points to hit 40.

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