Active Adult Home Builder Activity, Confidence Drop
August 12, 2010 – Builder confidence in the mature-housing market retreated during this year’s second quarter, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders’ 55+ Housing Market Index (55+ HMI) – a quarterly survey of the association’s builder members engaged in the production of mature-market housing. This past quarter’s index values dropped for all areas surveyed, compared to the previous year’s second quarter.
“The same factors that affect activity in the overall housing market – including hesitant home buyers, tight consumer credit, and continuing competition from foreclosed and distressed properties – are having an impact on the 55+ segment of the market, which remains stalled in most regions,” says NAHB’s Chief Economist, David Crowe. “In spite of the recent flurry of home-buying activity tied to the home buyer tax credit, many older homeowners continue to have difficulty selling their existing homes, causing them to postpone plans to look for a home that offers reduced maintenance or is otherwise more appropriately designed to accommodate their current lifestyles.”
The 55+ single-family HMI measures builder sentiment based on current sales, prospective buyer traffic and anticipated six-month sales for the 55+ single-family market. A number greater than 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. In the second quarter of 2010, the index slipped four points compared to the same period a year earlier, down to 12. Present sales fell to 12, down four points; expected sales to 17, down seven points, and traffic to 12, down 2 points.
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