By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said its new home builder members displayed a surge of confidence this month. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) jumped 7 points to 71, giving it the highest reading since June 2005. Numbers for the three component indices were also up, however the increased confidence did not extend nationwide.
Analysts badly undershot the HMI. Those polled by Econoday had expected only a one-point increase from February to 66.
NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald said, “Builders are buoyed by President Trump’s actions on regulatory reform,” pointing specifically to a recent executive order that rescinded and revised part of the U.S. rule that impacts permitting.
