U.S. Home-Builder Sentiment Declines in June Amid Rising Costs -- NAHB
June 15 2021 - 9:15AM
Dow Jones News
By Xavier Fontdegloria
Home-builder confidence in the U.S. declined in June to its
lowest level since August 2020 amid rising material prices and
supply-chain strains, according to a measure released Tuesday from
the National Association of Home Builders. Here are the report's
main takeaways:
--The association's housing market index, which gauges the
single-family housing market, decreased to 81 in June from 83 in
May. A number above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions
as good than poor.
--Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expected the
indicator be unchanged from the previous month at 83.
--The index is still a sign of strong demand, after reaching an
all-time high of 90 in November 2020.
--"Higher costs and declining availability for softwood lumber
and other building materials pushed down builder sentiment in
June," NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke said. Rising costs have moved some
new homes beyond the budget of prospective buyers, which has slowed
the strong pace of home building, he said.
--Builders have adopted price escalation clauses to deal with
scarce building materials, labor and lots, NAHB Chief Economist
Robert Dietz said. Despite these strategies, increases for new home
prices are pushing some buyers to the sidelines, he said.
--All three of the major HMI indexes deteriorated in June
compared with the previous month. The index gauging current sales
conditions decreased two points to 86, the component measuring
sales expectations in the next six months fell two points to 79,
and the measure charting traffic of prospective buyers also dropped
two points to 71.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
-0-
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 15, 2021 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.