NAHB/Wells Fargo: Home builder confidence dips in April

After experiencing a slight gain in March, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) dropped one point in April to 16 — a mark the HMI has held for five of the last six months, according to the NAHB.

The index gauges builder perceptions of three aspects of the market: current single-family home sales, sales expectations for the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

In April, two out the three HMI components declined. Current sales conditions fell one point to 16 and sales expectations for the next six months declined three points to 23. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose a single point to 13 in April.

Regional breakdown:

• South dropped four points to 15
• Northeast and Midwest gained two points to 20 and 14
• West stayed at 17.

Read NAHB’s report: http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?newsID=12474