Today, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released their Housing Market Index (HMI) for June showing continued evidence that the new home market is experiencing a prolonged bout of depression.The release came along with a bleak outlook and a continued plea for a government bailout of the housing debacle from Chief Economist David Seiders.
“Clearly, conditions in the housing market remain very weak, and our builder members are not seeing any signs of improvement, … Indeed, the continuing erosion of employment and consumer confidence/sentiment, coupled with surging energy costs, falling house prices and rising home mortgage foreclosures, pose considerable downside risks to the economy and our housing forecast. A targeted stimulus such as a temporary home-buyer tax credit would help turn this situation around and restore housing as an engine of economic growth.”
Each component of the NAHB housing market index is now sitting at or near the worst levels ever seen in the over 20 years the data has been being compiled strongly suggesting that the current severe contraction has surpassed all other events seen in the last 22 years and is now firmly in uncharted territory.
