The NAHB home builder sentiment survey was 29 in June vs 28 in May (revised from 29) and compares with expectations of 28. The level is the best in 5 yrs but still remains well below the breakeven level of 50k, last seen in the bubblicious days in ’06. Present conditions rose 2 pts but the Outlook was unchanged as was Prospective Buyers Traffic. The NAHB said that still “overly tight lending conditions and inaccurate appraisals are major obstacles to completing sales at this time.” Not mentioned by the NAHB but these factors are also in addition to the competition from the still sizeable amount of existing homes for sale or in some state of foreclosure.
