Global| Mar 17 2008U.S. NAHB Housing Market Index Low & Stable
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) reported that the March Composite Housing Market Index remained at the same low level as in February. The readings are more than two-thirds lower than the highs of 2004. During the [...]
The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) reported that the March Composite Housing Market Index remained at the same low level as in February. The readings are more than two-thirds lower than the highs of 2004.
During the last twenty years there has been a 76% correlation between the y/y change in the Composite Index and the change in single family housing starts.
The index for single family detached homes also remained near the cycle's low which was down about three quarters from the 2004 high. Builders saw little improvement in single family home sales during the next six months and their index remained down by two-thirds from 2004.
The Home Builders' index improved slightly in the Southern region of the country but remained at or near the recent lows elsewhere.
Traffic of prospective home buyers was stable m/m following improvement during February.
The NAHB index is a diffusion index based on a survey of builders. Readings above 50 signal that more builders view conditions good than poor.
Fostering Sustainable Homeownership is Friday's speech by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and it can be found here.
Visit the National Association of Home Builders.
| Nat'l Association of Home Builders | March | February | March '07 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite Housing Market Index | 20 | 20 | 36 | 27 | 42 | 67 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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