Economic Buzz: US homebuilder confidence dips in February

Homebuilder confidence has unexpectedly seen a modest deterioration in the month of February, according to a report released by the National Association of Home Builders on Tuesday.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index edged down to 36 in February after slipping to 37 in January.

With the unexpected dip, the housing market index dropped to its lowest level since hitting 32 last September.

The slight decrease by the headline index came as the gauge measuring future sales slid to 46 in February from 49 in January.

The gauge charting traffic of prospective buyers also fell to 22 in February from 24 in January, while the index gauging current sales conditions held steady at 41.

The NAHB said the latest HMI survey also revealed that 36 percent of builders cut prices in February, down from 40 percent in January.

This marks the lowest incidence of price-cutting since last May, although the average price reduction remains at 6 percent.

The use of sales incentives was 65 percent in February, unchanged from January and marking the 11th consecutive month this share has exceeded 60 percent, the NAHB said.

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