Builders' confidence at 22-year low

Home builders’ confidence stayed at basement lows in November, due to a larger inventory of unsold homes and concern about negative media coverage on housing market woes. The National Association of Home Builders said its preliminary National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index was unchanged at 19 in November, marking the lowest reading since the index was first measured in January 1985. The index measuring sales expectations for the next six months fell one point to a reading of 25. Readings below 50 mean that more homebuilders view market conditions as less than favorable. "While [home builders] continue to work down inventories of unsold homes and reposition themselves for the market's eventual recovery, they realize it will be some time before market conditions support an upswing in building activity-most likely by the second half of 2008," said David Seiders, chief economist of the Washington-based NAHB, in a statement.