Builder confidence in the national market for newly built, single-family homes was virtually unchanged in February. But as KJZZ’s Lynn Kelly reports, the Western region does seem to be making progress.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index or ‘HMI-SURVEY’ gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.”

The HMI also quantifies the number of prospective buyers.  Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good.

The three-month averages for all four HMI regions were mixed in February with the Western region up four points to 55 while the national number was 46 – below that mid-point of 50.