Homebuilders are getting a big boost from the lack of existing homes for sale, and that appears to be outweighing some of the challenges they’re facing from financial markets.Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose 5 points in May to 50, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). It’s the fifth straight month of gains and the first reading of builder sentiment since July that wasn’t negative, which would be a reading below 50. Sentiment stood at 69 in May of last year.”New home construction is taking on an increased role in the marketplace because many home owners with loans well below current mortgage rates are electing to stay put, and this is keeping the supply of existing homes at a very low level,” said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, a homebuilder from Birmingham, Alabama, in a release.Huey noted that builders continue to face challenges to meet the growing demand. While the price of lumber has been falling since March, there are still supply shortages of building materials as well as tightening credit conditions for residential real estate development a …
