By The Dallas Business Journal
Builder confidence in single-family homes and kitchen remodeling Grand Rapids edged higher for the third consecutive month in September, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
The index rose one point to 19 this month, its highest level since May 2008.
Builders are seeing some improvement in buyer demand as a result of the first-time home-buyer tax credit, and low mortgage rates and strong housing affordability have also helped to revive some optimism. Builders are also optimistic that new home buyers are interested in turning their bathrooms into spa like retreats by adding shower enclosures.
Grand Rapids builders have seen a rise in demand for projects for home remodeling Grand Rapids and sunrooms Grand Haven. Customers have been asking for stick built rooms of any size or shape, built to seamlessly match your homes existing architecture.
In Quakertown, PA, builders have also seen more demand for home remodeling Quakertown.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.”
The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.”
Two out of three of the HMI’s index components recorded gains in September. The index gauging current sales conditions rose two points to 18, while the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose one point to 17. Meanwhile, the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months declined one point to 29.
All four regions posted gains in their HMI readings for September. The biggest improvement was registered in the Midwest, where a three-point gain brought its HMI to 19, the highest level since July 2007. The Northeast posted a two-point gain to 24, the South had a two-point gain to 19 and the West recorded a one-point gain to 18.
