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US homebuilder sentiment remains strong in February - NAHB
Sentiment among US homebuilders remained strong in February, according to data released on Thursday.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index was unchanged from the previous month at 72, in line with expectations.
The index measuring future sales expectations rose two points to 80, hitting a post-recession high, while the gauge of buyer traffic was steady at 54 and the current sales conditions index declined by one point to 78.
By region, the index for the Midwest was up two points to 72, while the gauge for the South edged up one point to 74, the West remained unchanged at 81 and the index for the Northeast was down two points to 56.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "We feared a weaker number, given the drop in stock prices and the increase in mortgage rates, but homebuilders' expectations of future sales rose by two points to 80, a level last seen in June 2005, at the peak of the boom. The strength of the labour market is an offset to higher rates, and easier credit conditions in recent months likely are helping too, but mortgage rates have to rise a bit further in order to catch up with the increase in Treasury yields, and we doubt the latter have peaked yet. We expect homebuilders' sentiment to slip a bit over the next few months, but we are not expecting a collapse anything like the 2005-08 meltdown."