Dive Brief:

• What got Charlie Scott's goat, it appears, was how the media leaped on reports of slumping builder confidence recently when February prospect traffic was down.
• Anyone who's been in the home-building business should know that February is a fickle month, he argues, and then there are the facts: February this year had four Sundays (the day for prospects), and one of those was taken up by some big pro football game that made ratings history.
• Factor in this winter's Polar Vortex, Scott argues, and you have a made-for-media meal of bad news that anyone in the business should know better than to believe.

Dive Insight:

There is a danger, the consultant argues, that builders will under-invest in land, product and people and will miss a longer-term housing rally.