American homebuilders' confidence jumped to a four-month high this month, and mortgage interest rates are expected to fall, boosting optimism about demand for new homes in the coming year. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo's index for measuring the state of the housing market rose to 43 in October, the second consecutive month of increase. This figure is higher than the median estimate of 42 for economists surveyed by Bloomberg. All three sub-indicators of the indicator rose. The outlook for the next six months rose to the highest level since April, while potential buyer traffic indicators and current sales indicators have also improved. “We expect mortgage interest rates to fall unevenly over the next few quarters, which will improve housing demand, but will also put pressure on the supply of construction land due to strict development and construction loan lending conditions,” NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz said in a prepared statement. Builders are already looking forward to the key spring sales season, and lower borrowing costs are expected to bring new customers to the market.

American homebuilders' confidence jumped to a four-month high this month, and mortgage interest rates are expected to fall, boosting optimism about demand for new homes in the coming year. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo's index for measuring the state of the housing market rose to 43 in October, the second consecutive month of increase. This figure is higher than the median estimate of 42 for economists surveyed by Bloomberg. All three sub-indicators of the indicator rose. The outlook for the next six months rose to the highest level since April, while potential buyer traffic indicators and current sales indicators have also improved. “We expect mortgage interest rates to fall unevenly over the next few quarters, which will improve housing demand, but will also put pressure on the supply of construction land due to strict development and construction loan lending conditions,” NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz said in a prepared statement. Builders are already looking forward to the key spring sales season, and lower borrowing costs are expected to bring new customers to the market.