The nation’s home builders haven’t been this optimistic in ten years. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index was recently released. This index rose in October to sixty four points, up from sixty one in September. The last time the index reading was higher was in October of two thousand and five at sixty eight points.
Readings above fifty indicate that more builders view sales conditions view sales conditions as upbeat rather than poor. As reported by the New York Times, the index has been consistently above fifty since July of last year. Sales of new homes have surged nearly twenty two percent over the past year. They hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of five hundred and fifty two thousand homes in August, the strongest sales pace since February of two thousand and eight.
The builder sentiment index incorporate sub-indices, including one focused on the outlook for sales over the next six months. That sub-index recently registered its highest reading since August two thousand and five, with the implication being that the pace of new home sales will accelerate on a seasonally adjusted basis as we enter twenty sixteen.
