Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in November grew two points to a level of 70 on the National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index and was the highest level since March and second highest since July 2005.
"Demand for housing is increasing at a consistent pace, driven by job and economic growth, rising homeownership rates and limited housing inventory," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz in a statement. "With these economic fundamentals in place, we should see continued upward movement of the single-family housing market as we close out 2017."
The HMI is derived from three components: Current sales conditions rose two points to 77, buyer traffic increased two points to 50 and sales expectations in the next six months fell one point to 77.
The three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores rose in the Northeast by five points to 54 and in the South by one point to 69. The HMI remained the same in the West and Midwest at 77 and 63, respectively.
