Home builder sentiment remains soft

The mood of homebuilders in June remained dour with the NAHB builder sentiment index falling further to just 32 from 34 in May and vs the estimate of 36. That’s the lowest since December 2022. Both the Present and Future components were down by 2 pts m/o/m while Prospective Buyers Traffic fell to just 21, also down 2 pts. Again, 50 is the breakeven between expansion and contraction.

The NAHB highlighted the challenges, “Buyers are increasingly moving to the sidelines due to elevated mortgage rates and tariff and economic uncertainty. To help address affordability concerns and bring hesitant buyers off the fence, a growing number of builders are moving to cut prices.”