Good News on the Housing Front…

You may have noticed during the past two months that national media coverage of housing has turned a corner. NAHB has been doing its part by continually talking with the press to give our perspective on key housing data — new-home sales, housing starts, national home prices, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) and the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) – which have all shown measurable signs of improvement during the past several months.

The HMI, which measures builder confidence in the single-family market, now stands at its highest level since March of 2007. Meanwhile, the IMI, which identifies local housing markets that have shown measurable and sustained improvement, has jumped from 12 markets when the index was first unveiled last September to 84 as of July. Moreover, production of single-family homes is now the strongest it has been since 2010 due to rising consumer demand brought on by improving market conditions.

Indeed, government data reveals that housing has gone from a net drag on the economy to a net positive and that residential home construction is now starting to reassume its traditional role of helping to move the economy forward following a recession.

A link (log on to www.nahb.org/goodnews) has been provided to give you access to these positive media reports on housing and I encourage you to use this data as a sales tool to employ with your customers. Potential home buyers have been waiting on the sidelines for the market to show consistent signs of improvement.

Use this positive news coverage to make the case to your customers that housing is on the rebound, that home prices are stabilizing and that now is the best time to purchase a newly-built home while prices and interest rates are so favorable.