U.S. homebuilder confidence eased slightly in December to the second-best level on record following the prior month’s peak, signaling that low mortgage rates are still giving the industry a major boost.
A gauge of builder sentiment slipped to 86 from November’s reading of 90 that was the highest in records back to 1985, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Wednesday. The figure was below the median forecast of 88 in Bloomberg’s survey of economists.
