Builder confidence holds as fuel costs and rates bite
Meanwhile, 63% of builders deployed some form of sales incentive, a proportion that has barely moved in months.
“Our latest builder survey continues to show signs of weakness in the home building market,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.
“August marked the 16th straight month that at least 30% of builders reported cutting prices to support demand, as well as the 16th consecutive month with the HMI below 40. Custom home builders continue to report stronger market conditions than spec builders, reflecting better conditions at the higher end of the market. Smaller, less dense markets are also outperforming larger metropolitan areas, and smaller builders report relatively stronger conditions than larger builders.”
US home prices rose 1.0% year over year in July, marking a third consecutive month near that pace, according to First American Data & Analytics’ Home Price Index (HPI).https://t.co/0Z0ZJvrW6q
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) August 17, 2026
Regional divide widens
The index measuring current sales conditions rose two points to 39, its highest since May. Future sales expectations and buyer traffic held unchanged at 43 and 23, respectively.
A traffic reading of 23 signals that the overwhelming majority of builders view foot traffic as low to very low, a result that tracks closely with softening purchase origination volumes across the broker channel.
