US home builder sentiment remained at historically low levels in December, providing fresh evidence that the US housing market has a long road to haul in terms of a return to healthy conditions.
The National Association of Home Builders / Wells FargoHousing Market Index, which measures the percentage of the nation's home builders that view market conditions as good, stayed at 16 in December. The measure matched expectations of economists participating in a recent poll by Reuters.
A reading above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions positively than negatively. The index hasn't reached that level since April 2006. The NAHB survey showed that sales conditions for single-family home sales remained at 16, while sales expectations for the next six months remained at 25. The index that tracks prospective buyer traffic, meanwhile, fell 1 point to a reading of 11.
