Homebuilder Sentiment slipped from 57 to 55 in February - missing extyrapolated expectations of a 58 print by the most in over 6 months. Present sales slipped very modestly, future expectations remained flat (and hope-strewn) as Prospective Buyers Traffic tumbled from 44 to 39. Of course, the blame for this weakness and dramatic drop in prospective buyer traffic - The Weather!! Except we note that the Northeast region (one of the hardest hit by the storms) rose from 43 to 48.
Buyer traffic tumbled...
[3]
But the Northeast region saw an improvement (even as Midwest did suffer)...
[4]
“Overall, builder sentiment remains fairly solid, with this slight downturn largely attributable to the unusually high snow levels across much of the nation,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo.
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So The Weather hurt Midwest traffic BUT did actually helped NorthEast traffic?
Charts: Bloomberg
