On Thursday at 10 a.m. EST, the National Association of Home Builders [1] will release their latest monthly installment of the Housing Market Index (HMI). The monthly HMI index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months on a scale of good, fair, or poor. The survey also asks NAHB members to rate traffic of prospective buyers. 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 rather than poor.
Builder confidence hit an 18-year high of 74 points in December before dropping slightly in January [2] to 72. Despite this fall, builders remained confident about the year ahead as demand for housing rises along with an overall strong economy.
"Builders are confident that changes to the tax code will promote the small business sector and boost broader economic growth,” said Randy Noel, Chairman of NAHB. We'll see how well that confidence is holding when the NAHB releases their latest HMI on Thursday.
Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead.
- Treasury Budget, Monday, 2 p.m. EST
- Consumer Price Index, Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. EST
- MBA Mortgage Applications, Wednesday, 7 a.m. EST
- Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations, Wednesday, 10 a.m. EST
- Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Thursday, 8:30 a.m. EST
- U.S. Census Bureau Housing Starts Survey, Friday, 8:30 a.m. EST