The US NAHB Market Index in May stayed at 58 for the fourth straight time. Consensus forecast was for a slight increase to 59. Prospective buyers traffic and present single family sales stayed the same at 44 and 63 respectively. Meanwhile, future sales jumped from 62 to 65, the most solid level since December 2015. The regional indices imply that the housing market activity in the Northeast declined sharply this month to 36 from 41, whereas the activity in the West stayed the same at 67. Meanwhile, activity in the South and Midwest rebounded slightly to 60 and 59 respectively.
In the past few years, residual seasonality has weighed on most of the underlying components in the NAHB survey. Adjusting the headline re-seasonally implies that activity in the housing market keeps on rebounding slowly in spite of what the report data shows, noted Barclays in a research report. Sales and construction activity are expected to expand, while the existing home sales report for the US is likely to indicate a slight recovery at the start of the second quarter, added Barclays.
