NAHB Housing Index Declines

The National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index declined from 71 to 70 in September, but remained only two points from the 18-year high of 72 recorded in July, the NAHB has reported."Low interest rates continue to drive home sales nationwide, although builders in some markets have begun noticing a slight slowdown," said NAHB executive vice president Kent Colton. "Also, there were scattered concerns about the stock market's recent volatility. In general, however, September's HMI indicates builders see market activity settling to a healthy level." The monthly survey of home builders asks respondents to rate current and expected sales of single-family homes as "good," "fair," or "poor" and traffic from prospective buyers as "high to very high," "average," or "low to very low." Any number over 50 indicates more builders see sales conditions as good than poor. The scores for current and expected sales each fell two points in September, to 75 and 78 respectively, but the traffic score rose two points to 56, the NAHB said. The NAHB's website address is http://www.nahb.com.