U.S. Builder Confidence Slips From December, But Remains High
January 18 2017 - 9:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Eric Morath
U.S. builders remain highly confident about the market for
newly-built single-family homes, but their optimism slipped in
January from the highest level in more than a decade the prior
month.
The National Association of Home Builders, a trade group, said
Wednesday its housing-market index fell to 67 in January. The
December reading was revised down to 69 from an initially reading
of 70, but it remained the highest monthly reading since 2005. A
number over 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than
poor.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a
January reading of 69.
"Builders begin the year optimistic that a new Congress and
administration will help create a better business climate for small
businesses, particularly as it relates to streamlining and
reforming the regulatory process," said NAHB Chairman Granger
MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas.
But the trade group's economist, Robert Dietz, said builders are
concerned about rising mortgage interest rates slowing demand for
new homes, as well as a lack of lots to build on and labor
shortages.
Write to Eric Morath at eric.morath@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 18, 2017 10:15 ET (15:15 GMT)
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