Home builders know the housing market as well as anyone. Maybe more. Builders have to know what buyers want, where they want it, and what they’re willing to pay. That’s why the National Association of Home Builders keeps a monthly measure of home builder confidence. After all, if home builders are feeling good about market conditions, chances are the market is in good shape. According to the most recent results of the NAHB’s index, builder confidence slipped back in January after recent gains. The index is scored on a scale where any number above 50 indicates that more builders feel good about conditions than poor. January saw a five point drop to 42. Carl Haris, NAHB’s chairman, said the decline was due to uncertainty about new government policies. “While builders hold out hope for pro-development policies, particularly for regulatory reform, policy uncertainty and cost factors created a reset for 2025 expectations …” Harris said. “Uncertainty on the tariff front helped push builders’ expectations for future sales volume down to the lowest level since December 2023.” (source)
