Seniors housing market remains good say builders

The market for homes for over 55s remains good according to a poll by the National Home Builders Association

Seniors housing market remains good say builders
The market for homes for over 55s remains good according to a poll by the National Home Builders Association.

Its members retained confidence in the market in the third quarter of 2017, although the NAHB 55+ Housing Market Indicator slipped to 59 from 66 in the second quarter.

However, the index remained above 50 for the 14th consecutive quarter, indicating positive sentiment in the market.

The weaker reading taken in September is likely to have been impacted by the devastating hurricanes and wildfires. NAHB chairman Dennis Cunningham says that the confidence slip is temporary.

For single-family homes for over 55s, the NAHB data shows current sales, sales in the next six months, and prospective buyer traffic all lower quarter-over-quarter. There were smaller declines for the condo market while the index shows higher sentiment for the multi-family rental market.

“The decline in the 55+ single-family HMI is consistent with slight softening of other measures of single-family construction seen recently, driven by the effect of the natural disasters on top of ongoing issues with the supply of labor, lots and some building materials,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “However, market conditions on balance remain favorable, and we expect gradual continued growth in the 55+ housing sector.”