According to the National Association of Home Builders – Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released this week, US home builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes increased five points to 76 in December 2019 from an upwardly revised November 2019. This is the highest reading since June of 1999.

“Builders are continuing to see the housing rebound that began in the spring, supported by a low supply of existing homes, low mortgage rates and a strong labor market,” said NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde.

“While we are seeing near-term positive market conditions with a 50-year low for the unemployment rate and increased wage growth, we are still underbuilding due to supply-side constraints like labor and land availability,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Higher development costs are hurting affordability and dampening more robust construction growth.” Read More:WORLD PROPERTY JOURNAL