The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo housing market index for February slipped two points from a prior reading of 57 in January to 55. The reading was lower than a consensus forecast of 58 from a Bloomberg survey.
An index reading above 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than view them as poor.
The current sales conditions subindex slipped a point in February to 62, and the sales expectations subindex remained unchanged at 60. The subindex that estimates prospective buyer traffic dropped from 44 to 39. The buyer traffic subindex has remained below 50 for months, and the NAHB noted that the overall downturn in the index this month is largely the result of unusually high snowfall in much of the country.
NAHB’s chief economist said:
For the past eight months, confidence levels have held in the mid- to upper 50s range, which is consistent with a modest, ongoing recovery. Solid job growth, affordable home prices and historically low mortgage rates should help unleash growing pent-up demand and keep the housing market moving forward in the year ahead.
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In the NAHB’s four regions, the three-month moving average index fell in the Midwest from 56 in January to 54 in February. In the Northeast the index fell a point to post a 46 index score, and the South dropped two points, from 59 to 57. In the West the index rose two points to 68.
Last month the NAHB reported that its remodeling market index had reached a record high of 60 in the fourth quarter of 2014. The group said that all sub-components include both large and small remodeling projects, maintenance and repair experienced increases.
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