US: Builder Confidence rises four points in October - NAHB

"Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose four points to a level of 68 in October on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This was the highest reading since May," the National Association of Home Builders reported on Tuesday.

Key highlights:

• “This month’s report shows that home builders are rebounding from the initial shock of the hurricanes,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas.
• “However, builders need to be mindful of long-term repercussions from the storms, such as intensified material price increases and labor shortages,”  MacDonald added.
• “It is encouraging to see builder confidence return to the high 60s levels we saw in the spring and summer,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.
• With a tight inventory of existing homes and promising growth in household formation, we can expect the new home market continue to strengthen at a modest rate in the months ahead,” Dietz added.