Homebuilder Sentiment in U.S. Rose for First Time in Five Months
Source: Bloomberg
10:00 AM EDT
April 15, 2015
Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose in April for the first time in five months as prospective buyers returned to the market and sales climbed.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo sentiment gauge increased to 56, the highest since January, from a revised 52 in the previous month, the Washington-based group reported Wednesday. Readings above 50 mean more respondents said conditions were good. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for the gauge to climb to 55.
Warmer weather is encouraging builders to start work on more homes at a time when tight inventory has been pushing up housing prices. Sustained improvement in the job market and a long-awaited pickup in wage growth would help to further strengthen demand as the spring selling season begins.
The housing market is “going to show further steady improvement,” Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit, said before the report. “There’s demand, interest rates are still low, and people are feeling more confident not only in the economic outlook but also in their job security.”
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-15/homebuilder-sentiment-in-u-s-rose-for-first-time-in-five-months
Here's Proof Homebuilders are Betting on a Pickup in the Housing Market
by Victoria Stilwell
11:57 AM EDT
April 15, 2015
Homebuilders have caught spring fever.
Confidence among U.S. builders, measured by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo sentiment gauge, increased in April for the first time in five months. The group's measure of the sales outlook for the next six months climbed to the highest level since December, while a gauge of prospective buyer traffic also rose.
With the housing market posting only middling progress in recent months, the fact that construction companies are optimistic is a good sign, especially heading into the crucial spring-selling season. The period usually starts in mid-February, with deals picking up the following months as the weather warms.
What's more encouraging, though, is that builders seem to be putting money where their mouths are.
The annualized rate of new housing authorized by building permits outpaced that of new home construction by 205,000 units in February, Commerce Department data show. That's the widest gap between plans for building and actual construction since January 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The data may be proof that homebuilders really are confident about the industry even as a harsh winter stalled growth. After all, while bad weather and cold temperatures can stop builders from starting work on a house, it probably won't stop them from pulling a permit.
more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-15/here-s-proof-homebuilders-are-betting-on-a-pickup-in-the-housing-market