Home Builder Confidence Rose for the Third Consecutive Month in March

Despite rising mortgage rates, slower buyer activity, and overall economic uncertainty, home builder sentiment is rising for the third straight month in March after a year of decreases, HousingWire reports. Home builder sentiment in the market for newly built, single-family homes ticked two points higher from February’s reading to an index value of 44 in March. That increase could be caused by a lack of existing-home inventory, which is shifting demand to the new-home market.

“Even as builders continue to deal with stubbornly high construction costs and material supply chain disruptions, they continue to report strong pent-up demand as buyers are waiting for interest rates to drop and turning more to the new home market due to a shortage of existing inventory,” Alicia Huey, the NAHB chairman, said in a statement.

“Given recent instability concerns in the banking system and volatility in interest rates, builders are highly uncertain about the near- and medium-term outlook,” Huey said.

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