Housing Market Index Accelerates

Home builders are reporting acceleration going into year-end with November's 70 reading for the housing market index the best since March. Both current and future sales are very strong, each at 77, and traffic is improving, up 2 points to 50 for its best reading since May.

The Northeast is the smallest region for home builders but its composite score this month is up very sharply to 63 and nearly matches the Midwest which is at 65. The West, at 77, and the South, at 72, are the focused regions for home builders.

Strength in this report has not translated this year to strength in actual housing data though today's results are, in general at least, favorable for tomorrow's housing starts & permits data.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
After easing from very strong levels, optimism among home builders bounced back strongly in October, to a composite headline of 68 which easily beat Econoday's consensus. Current and future sales both jumped sharply though traffic, reflecting lack of first-time buyers, continued to lag in the distance. Forecasters see November's housing market index at 67.