The Oct NAHB home builder index was 16, up 3 pts from Sept, was 2 pts above expectations and is at a 4 month high. To put into perspective though, 50 is the breakeven line between expansion and contraction so we’re just talking about the degree of weakness at these levels. Both the Present and Future expectations components rose as did Prospective Buyers Traffic. The NAHB chairman said “builders are starting to see some flickers of interest among potential buyers, and are hopeful that this interest will translate to more sales in the coming months. However, because most builders still have no access to credit for building homes, there is a real concern that we will not be able to meet the pent up demand when consumers are ready to get back in the market.” With the foreclosure process now a mess, we’ll have to see what benefit, if any, new home builders get, as foreclosures have been huge competition for the builders.
