Home builder sentiment continues to slowly improve | The Big Picture

Home builder sentiment continues to slowly improve | The Big Picture
"Homebuilder sentiment continued to improve in Jan, rising to 25 from 21, above expectations of 22 and it’s the best since June ’07. Present conditions rose 3 pts to 25 and the Future outlook was up 3 pts to 29. Prospective Buyers Traffic also gained 3 pts to 21. The NAHB chief economist said “builders are seeing greater interest among potential buyers as employment and consumer confidence slowly improve in a growing number of markets, and this has helped to move the confidence gauge up from near historic lows…That said, caution remains the word of the day as many builders continue to voice concerns about potential clients being unable to qualify for an affordable mortgage, appraisals coming through below construction cost, and the continuing flow of foreclosed properties hitting the market.”
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From Barry Ritholtz' blog. We will see how this pans out in the year to come. With European sovereign debt/Euro issues, possible war with Iran, and a slowdown in China all looking like major question marks I would be reluctant to predict how the economy will fare this year. And there is the dead weight of negative home equity and foreclosures hanging over the housing market and the economy.