Homebuilder co💎nfidence remained subdued in July, dropping to its lowest readi🧔ng since December as high borrowing costs weighed on sentiment. 

The National Association of Home Builders' index of confidence came in at 42 in July, down a point 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:from the prior month—a reading that shows a majority of builders believe the market is in poor condition. Economists were expecting the index to move up one point instead, according to a survey of economists by the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

Rate Cut Hopes Brighten Outlook

Homebuilders were down on their current sales aꦜnd traffic of prospective buyers. However, they were sli🐬ghtly more optimistic about expected sales in the next six months.

High mortgage rates have discouraged potential buyers, as high borrowing costs pressure澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: housing affordability. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is still hovering near 7%, but homebuilders are hop✅ing that interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve can change that.

“While buyers appear to be waiting for lower interest rates, the six-month sales expecta💙tion for builders moved higher, indicating that builders expect mortgage rates to edge lower later this year as inflation da🎀ta are showing signs of easing,” said NAHB Chairman Carl Harris.

The central bank's influential fed funds rate and traders' expectations of it 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:affect the trajectory of mortgage raꦰtes.

Investors seem to think that trajectory is on the right track, as homebuilder stocks rallied 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:on that same optimism Tuesday. Shares of D.R. Horton (DHI), Toll Brothers (TOL), PulteGroup (PHM), KB Home (KBH) and Lennar Corporation (LEN) all traded more than 3% higher.