The mood among American homebuilders just got a little darker. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell two points to 35 in June, erasing a modest rebound from May and signaling that the people who actually build houses in this country are not feeling great about the business of selling them.
A reading of 35 is well below the 50 threshold that separates optimism from pessimism. For context, this index hit 90 in late 2020, when pandemic-era interest rates made mortgages feel almost free. It also cratered to 8 during the Great Recession in 2009.
The numbers paint a grim picture
Breaking the index into its components tells you exactly where the pain is concentrated. Current sales conditions dropped two points to 38, meaning builders are watching deals slow in real time.
Sales expectations for the next six months held steady at 45, which is the most optimistic slice of the data. Buyer traffic stayed flat at 25, a notably low reading by any historical standard.
