The Nat’l Assoc of Home Builders sentiment index for Nov was 17, 2 pts below expectations and flat with the Oct reading which was revised from 18. Present conditions remained unchanged but future expectations did rise 2 pts. Prospective Buyers Traffic remained punk at 13 for the 2nd straight month. The NAHB is clarifying that today’s release of the Nov sentiment figure did reflect the uncertainty of whether the home buying tax credit was going to be extended or not. NAHB Chairman said “When the HMI survey was conducted at the beginning of this month, home builders were facing the imminent expiration of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit at the end of Nov, with no guarantee that this valuable buyer incentive would be extended.” The NAHB Chief Economist said “today’s report confirms that home builders and buyers were in something of a holding pattern in early Nov as the anticipated expiration of the tax credit drew near and congressional action had not yet taken place to address this.” He did though also attribute the weakness to “the challenges that builders are facing in obtaining credit for new housing production and appropriate appraisal values for their homes continued to worsen.”
