Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. is at its highest level in almost ten years in the month of July, the National Association of Home Builders revealed in a report on Thursday.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index came in at 60 in July, unchanged from the upwardly revised reading for June.
Economists had expected the index to come in at 59, which would have been unchanged from the reading originally reported for the previous month.
The NAHB said the housing market index is now at its highest level since reaching a reading of 61 in November of 2005.
“The fact that builder confidence has returned to levels not seen since 2005 shows that housing continues to improve at a steady pace,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods.
He added, “As we head into the second half of 2015, we should expect a continued recovery of the housing market.”
The report said the index gauging current sales conditions inched up to 66 in July from 65 in June, while the index charting sales expectations in the next six months rose to 71 from 69.
On the other hand, the NAHB said the index measuring buyer traffic edged down to 43 in July from 44 in the previous month.
“This month’s reading is in line with recent data showing stronger sales in both the new and existing home markets as well as continued job growth,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “However, builders still face a number of challenges, including shortages of lots and labor.”
Friday morning, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a separate report on new residential construction in the month of June.
Economists expect housing starts to climb to an annual rate of 1.125 million in June after falling to a rate of 1.036 million in May.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com