Builder confidence fell one point but remains higher than it was during all but one month of 2019, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ monthly Housing Market Index, released on Tuesday. The Index clocked in at 74 in February, down from 75 in January.
The HMI is a weighted average of separate indices for three single-family data points. It asks respondents to rate the market conditions for the sale of new homes at present and in the next six months, as well as the traffic of prospective buyers of new homes. It falls in a range of 0-100.
The index measuring current sales conditions fell one point to 80 while the index measuring the traffic of prospective buyers dropped one point to 57. The measure charting expectations in the next six months also fell one point, to 79.
Regional confidence, meanwhile, varied. It rose five points to 67 in the Northeast while falling five points to 62 in the Midwest. The South saw a two-point rise, to 79, while Western builder confidence fell four points to 82.