Builder Confidence UP

Builder confidence rose three points to 66 in May on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released Wednesday. Builder sentiment is at its highest level since October 2018.

All the HMI indices posted gains in May. The index measuring current sales conditions rose three points to 72, the component gauging expectations in the next six months edged one point higher to 72 and the metric charting buyer traffic moved up two points to 49.

Among the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast posted a six-point gain to 57, the West increased two points to 71, the Midwest gained one point to 54, and the South rose a single point to 68.

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