Home Builders Pessimistic On Sales Outlook

DETROIT (WWJ) - You're not going to find much optimism out of home builders these days. WWJ's Rob Sanford said the latest survey was even more pessimistic than projected earlier.

Confidence among homebuilders was little changed in May, as executives turned more pessimistic on the outlook for sales.

Renewed declines in real-estate values and more unsold homes in the foreclosure pipeline mean builders are reluctant to take on new projects.

David Crowe of the National Association of Home Builders said the whole key is how consumers feel about the economy.

"It's really a matter of consumer confidence needed to get the builder confidence moving forward. Consumers have to feel comfortable that the economy is turning around... that house prices are beginning to stabilize," Crowe said.

Builders in two of the four regions of the country had declines in confidence, while here in the Midwest, there was little change.