Dive Brief:

• The monthly National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) came in at 54 for this month on its 100-point scale, a slight edge for optimism among builders.
• The 54 matched an October score that had been revised down from its initial report.
• The association painted a picture of builders holding out hope in a market in which buyers are worried by government fiscal uncertainty and builders face rising materials prices and low appraisals of their properties.

Dive Insight:

The association was not sparing in criticizing Washington for creating an air of unease with its budget disputes. Consumers "are holding back because Congress keeps pushing critical decisions on budget, tax and government spending issues down the road,” the group's chairman, Rick Judson, said. David Crowe, NAHB's chief economist, threw the other punch at Washington, saying, "The fact that builder confidence remains above 50 is an encouraging sign, considering the unresolved debt and federal budget issues cause builders and consumers to remain on the sideline.”