Home Builders More Optimistic About Sales

Washington, DC, Aug. 18, 2008--Home builders registered some improvement in their outlook for home sales in the next six months, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index  for August.

The overall confidence measure held even this month at 16, a record low, while the component gauging sales expectations rose two points to 25.
 
“With the passage of crucial housing legislation last month that created an attractive home buyer tax credit, there is a sense that home sales may soon be reaching a turning point,” noted NAHB President Sandy Dunn, a home builder from Point Pleasant, W.Va.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, signed into law by President Bush on July 30, implemented several critical reforms to the housing finance system, provided aid to troubled homeowners facing foreclosure, and created a temporary $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers who meet certain income requirements. NAHB has developed a Web site at www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com to promote the tax credit and answer commonly asked questions about it.
 
“While our overall measure of builder confidence remains at a record low at this time, it is a good sign that two out of three of the HMI’s component indexes rose in August, and this may be an indication that we are nearing the bottom of the long downswing in new-home sales,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Our current forecast shows stabilization of sales during the second half of this year, followed by solid recovery in 2009 and beyond.”