Homebuilder Blues: NAHB/Wells Fargo Home Builder Ratings July 2011

Today, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released their latest Housing Market Index (HMI) showing tepid increases across most measures with the composite HMI index climbing a meager two points since last month while the "buyer traffic" index remained near record lows as home builders continue to plod through the weakest activity seen in generations.

It's important to recognize that currently all measures are continuing to show epic weakness with even the strongest sentiment gain only slightly beating the level seen last year.

Clearly the new home market has seen another no-show start to the buying season with the typically strongest selling months (remember Bob Toll's analysis of the seasons) fully behind it.

The new home market will likely not resume any significant form of healthy function until the considerable overhang of inventory is cleared.