Builder Confidence Rallies to Pre-Pandemic Level in July
In a strong signal that the housing market is ready to lead a post-COVID economic recovery, builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes jumped 14 points to 72 in July, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. The HMI now stands at the solid pre-pandemic reading in March before the outbreak affected much of the nation.
"Builders are seeing strong traffic and lots of interest in new construction as existing home inventory remains lean," said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke. "Moreover, builders in the Northeast and the Midwest are benefiting from demand that was sidelined during lockdowns in the spring. Low interest rates are also fueling demand, and we expect housing to lead an overall economic recovery."
"While the housing market is clearly rebounding, challenges exist," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. "Lumber prices are at a two-year high and builders are reporting rising costs for other building materials while lot and skilled labor availability issues persist. Nonetheless, the important story of the changing geography of housing demand is benefiting new construction. New home demand is improving in lower density markets, including small metro areas, rural markets and large metro exurbs, as people seek out larger homes and anticipate more flexibility for telework in the years ahead. Flight to the suburbs is real."
Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for 30 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as "good," "fair" or "poor." The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as "high to very high," "average" or "low to very low." Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
All the HMI indices posted gains in July. The HMI index gauging current sales conditions jumped 16 points to 79, the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months rose seven points to 75 and the measure charting traffic of prospective buyers posted a 15-point gain to 58.
Looking at the monthly average regional HMI scores, the Northeast surged 22 point to 70, the Midwest jumped 18 points to 68, the South increased 10 points to 73 and the West increased 14 points to 80.
HMI tables can be found at nahb.org/hmi. More information on housing statistics is also available at housingeconomics.com.
Latest from NAHBNow
Jun 30, 2025
Top Builders List Spotlights NAHB MembersIn its latest May/June 2025 issue, Pro Builder unveiled its Top 200 (formerly Housing Giants) report, which ranks the top U.S. home builders by revenue, and looks at the top trends affecting the business of home building.
Jun 27, 2025
Supreme Court Limits Nationwide InjunctionsIn a case that could have far-reaching consequences for NAHB members, the Supreme Court today issued a 6-3 ruling that would limit the use of nationwide universal injunctions. A universal injunction stops the defendant from taking an action against anyone, anywhere.
Latest Economic News
Jun 30, 2025
2024 New Single-Family Starts by Census DivisionDespite persistently high mortgage rates, elevated financing costs for builders, and a shortage of buildable lots, single-family starts rebounded in 2024, following two straight years of declines.
Jun 27, 2025
2025 First Quarter State-Level GDP DataReal gross domestic product (GDP) increased in ten states in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the last quarter of 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Jun 27, 2025
State and Local Property Tax Revenue Grows in the First QuarterIn the first quarter of 2025, state and local governments experienced an increase in property tax revenue growth. On a seasonally adjusted basis, state and local government property tax revenue grew 1.1% over the quarter, according to the Census Bureau’s quarterly summary of state and local tax revenue.