Home builder confidence falls as spring buying season begins

Confidence in the housing market amongst builders fell in April, according to the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo. Builders’ confidence had risen 1 point in March after four straight months of holding steady, but last month returned to its original, lower level, the NAHB said today. Builders of new, single-family homes are seeing a slow start to the spring home buying season, the trade organization said: there’s more traffic, but buyers are still wary of the strength of the recovery. In particular, consumers are reacting to “recent legislative and regulatory proposals that could make it much harder to get a mortgage,” said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the NAHB. David Crowe, chief economist at the NAHB, said “the best sales activity appears to be happening in the lower price ranges, where first-time buyers have greater flexibility than repeat buyers who must sell their current home.” TRD