(NAHB) The US posted a one-point decline in the builder confidence in January to 82, a second straight month of dip as material production bottlenecks persisted.
NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter says production disruptions are slowing down activity while raising construction costs that are pricing out buyers from the market.
NAHB says residential construction costs could rise 21% on a year-over-year basis which has swayed away first-time buyers.
Chief Economist Robert Dietz at NAHB says potential higher interest rates this year will reduce house affordability, although demand will remain strong due to the shortage of resale inventory.
The index gauging current sales conditions improved by one point to 90, while the index measuring sales expectations over the next six months was down two points to 80. The index of traffic of prospective buyers edged four points lower to 65.
On a three-month moving average basis, the Northeast posted a three-point rise in Housing Market Index score to 76, while the West improved by 1 point to 89. The Midwest was down by one point to 73, while the South also fell one point to 86.
SPY is down -0.66%, DXY is down -0.07%.
