Builder confidence falls In August

The Housing Market Index fell one point to 13, its lowest level since March 2009, the National Association of Home Builders said in a release.

"Builders are expressing the same concerns that they are hearing from consumers right now, particularly the sense that the overall economy and job market aren't gaining any traction," NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., said in a release. "Meanwhile, many continue to report that problems with inaccurate appraisals, competition from the large number of distressed properties on the market and tight consumer lending conditions are causing them to lose potential sales."

The report reflects single-family builders' concerns about conditions now and in the future as well as the increasing hesitancy seen in the home-buying public, NAHB lead economist David Crowe said.

"It also reflects the frustration that builders are feeling regarding the effects that foreclosed property sales are having on the new-homes market, with 87 percent of respondents reporting that their market has been negatively impacted by foreclosures," Crowe said.

Even so, he said the home builder association still projects that modest job gains, historically low mortgage rates and pent-up demand will ensure a better housing market in the second half of 2010 than in the first half of the year.

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