Confidence among U.S. home builders rose slightly in March, the third-straight month builders have increased their optimism about the U.S. housing market.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo's gauge of builder sentiment increased 2 points to 44, figures released Wednesday showed. Analysts had expected this index to come in at a reading of 40.
Still, readings under 50 for this index show a larger proportion of builders responding to the survey see conditions as "poor" than those who see conditions in the market as "good."
"Even as builders continue to deal with stubbornly high construction costs and material supply chain disruptions, they continue to report strong pent-up demand as buyers are waiting for interest rates to drop and turning more to the new home market due to a shortage of existing inventory," NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, a custom home builder and developer from Birmingham, Ala, wrote in the press release.
"But given recent instability concerns in the banking system and volatility in interest rates, builders are highly uncertain about the near- and medium-term outlook," Huey added.