Homebuilder sentiment nears pandemic low as economic uncertainty plagues consumers

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Higher mortgage rates and uncertainty in the broader economy continue to weigh on consumers — and consequently on the nation’s homebuilders.

Builder sentiment in June dropped 2 points from May to 32 on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Anything below 50 is considered negative. The index stood at 43 in June 2024.

Analysts had been expecting a slight improvement, given recent tariff negotiations and pullbacks by the Trump administration.

This index has only seen a lower reading than June’s level twice since 2012 – back in December 2022, after mortgage rates shot up from record lows during the first two years of the pandemic, and in April 2020 at the very start of the pandemic.