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Builders See Strong and Steady Single-Family Market in March

“The tremendous pace of home sales in last year’s final months has apparently given way to a more sustainable level of activity in early 2004,” said NAHB President Bobby Rayburn, which is a positive sign heading into the peak home buying season this spring.

Highly favorable financing conditions, solid house-price performance and excellent demographics continue to drive the new-homes marketplace, according to NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Builders evidently are deriving confidence from these developments and registering realistic expectations for the future,” he said.

Seiders also noted that there has been a gradual downward drift in the HMI from its highs of late 2003, in tandem with ongoing concerns about the job market and lower consumer confidence readings.

The HMI is derived from a monthly survey of builders that NAHB has been conducting for the last 19 years. Home builders are asked to rate current sales of single-family homes, which fell two points to 69 in March; sales expectations for the next six months, which were down three points to 70; and the traffic of prospective buyers, which climbed two points to 48.

Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

Register for NAHB’s Spring Construction Forecast Conference

See what's on the horizon for the housing industry at the semi-annual gathering of the country's premier economists and finance experts. Get the latest forecasts on housing starts, project budgets and other economic bellwethers at the Spring Construction Forecast Conference on Wednesday, April 21, at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. Visit the Web site for more information.

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