After 5 months of missed expectations and tumbling to one-year lows, the NAHB sentiment index jumped 4 points to 49 (still below the 'positive' 50 level). The Northeast - most troubled supposedly by the weather - saw prosepctive buyer traffic drop, but the otheer 3 regions rose with the West spiking. Just as we have seen in the last 2 cycles, NAHB survey data remains far adrift of the reality of sales, but that won't stop the algos extrapolating this jump to new highs and a recovery in housing that is back on...as HANB Chair confirms "is a welcome sign and shows renewed confidence in the industry."
NAHB remains adrift of reality...again
[6]
notably Northeast dropped as the other 3 regions rose...
[7]
“Consumers are still hesitant, and are waiting for clear signals of full-fledged economic recovery before making a home purchase,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Builders are reacting accordingly, and are moving cautiously in adding inventory.”
Perhaps MDC's CFO summed it up best...
“While we’ve made improvements, we’re still well off of what would be considered maybe average or more of a normal basis,” John Stephens, chief financial officer, said during a June 5 conference presentation. “We need to see improvements in consumer confidence and job growth, really, which is really going to drive homebuilding at the end of the day.”
Charts: Bloomberg
