(Washington, DC – Insurance News 360) – According to release by National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) the single-family housing market edged down from 72 to 71 in the second quarter keeping the builder’s confidence solid.

Single-family and multifamily condominiums are the two segments measured by HMI 55+ housing market. The survey measures builder’ sentiment inquiring if recent sales, potential traffic of buyers and expected sales of 6 months are good, average or poor  for traffic.

“Although the single-family HMI fell slightly, builder sentiment remains strong for this segment of the market,” said Karen Schroeder, chair of NAHB’s 55+ Housing Industry Council and vice president of Mayberry Homes in East Lansing, Mich. “The reading of 71 is just one point off from the all-time high of 72 from the previous quarter. We expect the 55+ housing market to continue on a positive path moving forward.”

For 55+ single-family HMI’s three index components, current sales remained unchanged at 76, one point raise in anticipated sales for the next six months at 78 and potential buyers traffic dropped five points to 56.

There’s an increase of two points to 59   in HMI of the multifamily condo. There’s raise in two out of three index components as compared to last quarter. Current sales increased three points to 61 and forecasted sales for the next 6 months rose to three points at 65. However, traffic of prospective buyers dropped two points and fell at 50.

There is an increase from the first quarter  in all four components of the 55+ multifamily rental market: Current production and future anticipated production both rose six points at 64, while current demand increased  12 points to 73 and future expected demand increased 10 points to 73

“Demand for 55+ housing remains solid, as demonstrated in the surge for 55+ rental demand,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Builder sentiment for the for-sale 55+ housing market also remains in positive territory, supported by low inventory of existing homes. However, it is being constrained by development costs and their impact on affordability.”

Source: National Association of Home Builders.