Home builder confidence inched up slightly this month, with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) index rising just one point from 39 in March to 40 in April. This modest gain, however, keeps sentiment firmly below the critical 50-pointthreshold that separates growth from contraction.
Looking deeper at the data, all three key components – buyer traffic, current sales, and sales expectations – remain in negative territory (below 50). Most concerning is the sharp decline in future sales expectations, which dropped 4 points to 43, hitting its lowest mark since November 2023.
What’s the bottom line?
While NAHB Chair Buddy Hughes attributes April’s small confidence boost to recent mortgage rate decreases that stimulated some sales activity, the broader outlook remains challenging. Builders continue to exercise caution amid persistent economic uncertainty, new tariffs, and elevated material costs that create ongoing headwinds for the housing market.