Housing Market Demands Still Building Up Builder Confidence Even With Supply Chain Disruptions
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released this October shows strong builder confidence. The main reason for this push in builder confidence is the strong consumer demand. According to the report builder’s opinion of the market for newly-built single-family homes rose 4 points to 80 this October. This is incredible news since there are still hurdles for builders when it comes to rising material prices and material shortages.
“Although demand and home sales remain strong, builders continue to grapple with ongoing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages that are delaying completion times and putting upward pressure on building material and home prices,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke.
“Builders are getting increasingly concerned about affordability hurdles ahead for most buyers,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Building material price increases and bottlenecks persist and interest rates are expected to rise in coming months as the Fed begins to taper its purchase of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed debt. Policymakers must focus on fixing the broken supply chain. This will spur more construction and help ease upward pressure on home prices.”
The three major HMI categories all saw gains in October. Current sales conditions rose five points to 87, sales expectations in the next six months saw a three-point gain to 87, and traffic of prospective buyers rose a big four points to 65. The Midwest rose to 69, Northeast stayed at 72, the South stayed at 80 and the West unchanged at 83.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI is a monthly survey that measures builders’ opinions of the current single-family home sales and expectations for the next six months. A scale is used to rate their opinions as good, fair or poor. Along with this measurement, participating builders are also asked to rate the traffic of prospective buyers. This is scored as high to very high, average and low to very low.
Forecast shows that the end of 2021 will still have a strong housing market with strong buyer demand. If you are in the market to purchase or sell a home now is the time to contact a local sales professional.
