Dive summary:

• The National Association of Home Builders reports that its Housing Market Index – a measure of confidence among builders about their business prospects in the relatively short term – stands at 46 for the first quarter of this year for the market segment that deals with people 55 and older.
• The index is 19 points higher than the first quarter of 2012 and is the sixth time in a row that the quarterly measurement has shown an increase from the corresponding year-ago measurement.
• The index tops out at 100 uses a mark of 50 to indicate when respondents to its questions on sales, buyer traffic and prospective six-month sales are more positive than negative. NAHB started the index in 2008.

From the article:

"Builders and developers for the 55+ housing sector continue to report increased optimism in the market," said Robert Karen, chairman of NAHB's 50+ Housing Council. ...