The National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Market Index measures how confident builders are in the market for newly built, single-family homes. The index is considered an important metric because builders need to know what to build, and where, if they hope to be successful. In April, the NAHB’s survey found builders less confident than the month before – and generally uncertain due to rising oil costs. Robert Dietz, NAHB’s chief economist, says higher costs put builders in a challenging spot. “With oil prices higher in the U.S., 62 percent of builders reported suppliers have increased building materials costs due to higher fuel prices, including gas and diesel,” Dietz said. “Energy costs make up approximately 4 percent of residential construction material input and service costs.” In other words, home builders are seeing their supply costs rise at a time when buyers are looking for affordability, pushing the NAHB’s survey down four points from March. (source)
