The numbers: The National Association of Home Builders’ monthly confidence index once again fell two points from the previous month to a reading of 77 in April, the trade group said Monday. The index remains at the lowest level since September.
Nevertheless, index readings above 50 indicate that more builders believe that conditions are good rather than poor. The last time the index dropped below 50 was back in April and May 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The big picture: A separate survey from BTIG and HomeSphere found that 42% of home builders believe that interest rates are negatively affecting their business, up from less than 22% in January. Nevertheless, the survey still found that sales were up in March for small- and mid-sized home builders, and most had still raised prices.
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