WASHINGTON – Builder confidence in the 55+ housing market for single-family homes showed
strong continued improvement in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same period a year ago,
according to the National Association of Home Builders’ latest 55+ Housing Market Index released Aug. 8.
The index increased 24 points to a level of 53, which is the highest second-quarter number since the
index started in 2008 and the seventh consecutive quarter of year over year improvements."Builders
and developers for the 55-plus housing sector are feeling optimistic as they are seeing more consumers
return to the marketplace," said Robert Karen, chairman of NAHB’s 50+ Housing Council and managing
member of the Symphony Development Group. "With existing home prices rising, consumers are able to
sell their current homes and make the move toward either purchasing a home or renting an apartment that
is designed to more specifically suit their lifestyle."There are separate 55-plus HMIs for two
segments of the 55-plus housing market: single-family homes and multifamily condominiums. Each 55-plus
HMI measures builder sentiment based on a survey that asks if current sales, prospective buyer traffic
and anticipated six-month sales for that market are good, fair or poor (high, average or low for
traffic). A number below 50 indicates more builders view conditions as poor than good.All of the
components of the 55-plus single-family HMI showed major growth from a year ago: present sales climbed
24 points to 54, expected sales for the next six months increased 25 points to 60 and traffic of
prospective buyers rose 26 points to 48.The 55-plus multifamily condo HMI posted a gain of 24 points to
43, which is the highest second-quarter reading since the inception of the index.The 55-plus multifamily
rental indices also showed strong gains as present production increased 19 points to 50.