Confidence amongst home builders was unchanged in March, according to a report issued by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) on Monday.

The housing market index came in at 9 in March, as expected, following the previous reading of 9 in February.

The index, which has a 22-year history, consists of three components.

The sales expectations component was unchanged at 15 in March, while the component for present sales for single-family homes was also unchanged at 7. The component looking at traffic of prospective buyers fell two points to 9.

Over the past three years, the index has fallen from 61 to a record-low reading of 8 in January 2009. A rating above 50 indicates optimism by home builders; a reading below 50 indicates pessimism. The all-time low prior to the current credit crunch was 19.

By Megan Ainscow and edited by Stephen Huebl
©CEP News Ltd. 2009