Each quarter since its inception in 2008 the National Association of Home Builders’ 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) is used to measure builder confidence in the 55+ housing market. The 55+ single-family HMI measures builder sentiment based on a survey that asks respondents to evaluate market conditions as good, fair or poor in a variety of areas: current sales, prospective buyer traffic and anticipated six-month sales. An index value below 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as poor than good. While all index components of the HMI remain below 50, they increased considerably from a year ago. In fact, the index more than doubled year over year from a level of 13 to 29; this is the highest second-quarter reading since its inception.
The HMI index improvement may bode well for those aged 55+ who have been unable to sell their homes. Per NAHB Chief Economist, David Crowe, “We are seeing buyers slowly return to the 55+ housing market as home prices being to improve.”
The index can be obtained at: http://www.nahb.org/reference_list.aspx?sectionID=1843
