Builder Confidence Declines To Lowest Level Since February 1991....

The confidence level of the nation's home builders declined for the eighth consecutive month in September, a reflection of increased sales cancellations and rising inventories of unsold homes, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

The seasonally adjusted HMI stands at 30 this month, down three points from August and down 35 points from a year ago.

In the West, the HMI has steadily declined since April and now stands at 38. An HMI below 50 indicates more builders view sales conditions as poor versus good.Two of the three HMI components decreased this month.

The component measuring current single-family sales declined 5 points to 32, while the component gauging sales expectations fell four points to 37. The component measuring the traffic of prospective buyers remained unchanged at 22.

**Taken from California Association of Realtors Bulletin, September 20, 2006.