Builder confidence for the newly-built single-family homes market, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), fell to its lowest since December 2022.
The index revealed a six-point drop to 34 in November. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly drop in builder confidence. Sentiment levels have fallen 22 points since July.
In November, 36% of builders reported cutting home prices. That’s up from 32% in the previous two months, and represents the highest share of builders cutting prices during this cycle. It ties the previous high point set in November 2022.
The average price reduction in November was 6%, unchanged from the previous month.
Six in 10 (60%) of builders provided sales incentives of all forms in November. That’s down from 62% in October.
Regionally, the three-month moving averages for HMI scores varied considerably. The Northeast dropped one point to 49, the Midwest dropped three points to 36. But the South fell seven points to 42. The West was down six points 35.
It should be noted that nearly the entire HMI data for November was collected before the latest Consumer Price Index was released and showed that inflation is moderating.
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