WASHINGTON
(MarketWatch) -- The doom and gloom mood in the U.S. home-building
industry worsened in October as "profound uncertainties" about credit
availability sent the home builders' sentiment index down to a record
low, an industry trade group reported Thursday.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index fell three
points to 14 in October, two points below the previous low, NAHB said.
The survey has been conducted monthly for 23 years.
"Not surprisingly,
builder confidence has taken a heavy hit from the recent financial
market crisis," said Sandy Dunn, president of the NAHB and a builder
from Point Pleasant, W. Va.
The index "reflects
builder assessment of recent events on Wall Street, the rapid
deterioration in job markets and the corresponding weakness in consumer
confidence," said David Seiders, chief economist for the builders'
group.
The builders
called for another stimulus program from Congress "including a
substantial incentive to spur home buying."
The index has been
highly correlated with data on housing starts, which are due out on
Friday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch are forecasting that starts
fell about 3% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
870,000, down 62% from the peak in early 2006.
At 14, the index shows that only about one out of seven builders thinks the market is good.
The index is based on a survey of about 450 builders who asked for
their view of the market. All three subcomponents declined in October.
The index measuring current sales fell three points to a record-low 14.
The index for expected sales fell nine points to a record-low 19. The
index of buyers' traffic fell two points to 12, matching the record
low.
The builders' index
fell in all four regions of the country. Sentiment fell by four points
in the Northeast to 17, fell by one point in the Midwest to 14, fell by
four points in the South to a record-low 16 and fell by three points in
the West to 10, matching the record low.
Home builders' confidence tanks in October - MarketWatch
