Builders eye springtime for rise in home sales

LOS ANGELES - U.S. home builders battered by the worst summer for home sales in a decade already are looking to spring, saying they feel optimistic about the prospect for a sales uptick.

The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its monthly index of builders' sentiment rose in November to 16, the highest reading since June.

The index sank to 13 in August and September, the lowest level since March 2009. It rose to a reading of 15 last month, but continues to reflect an overall grim industry outlook.

Readings below 50 indicate negative sentiment about the market. The last time the index was above 50 was April, 2006. The latest report reflects a survey of 420 residential developers nationwide.

Sales of new homes hit the lowest level in more than a decade this summer after federal home-buyer tax credits expired in April. Without the government incentives - and despite mortgage rates near historic lows - many home buyers are opting not to buy, put off by high unemployment, tight credit, and uncertainty about home prices.

Many builders are not seeing a dramatic improvement in the number of potential buyers visiting their model homes, but those who do drop by appear to be more serious about buying in the near future, said Bob Jones, association chairman.

The index measuring current sales conditions was unchanged this month from October at 16, while the reading for foot traffic from prospective buyers rose one point to 12. But the index for sales expectations over the next six months inched up two points to 25 after improving from September to October by five points.

Not all builders are optimistic.

Last week, D.R. Horton Inc., one of the nation's biggest home builders, said it didn't anticipate a significant bump in sales next spring.