Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Housing

NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index — July 2026

Released August 3, 2026 · NAHB / Wells Fargo · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
Housing Market Index fell 5.6% in July 2026 to 34.0, — from a year ago. Prior month: 36.0. Prior periods were revised in 3 series — figures below reflect that.
HMI
34.0
▼ −5.6% m/m
· — y/y
Current sales
37.0
▼ −2.6% m/m
· — y/y
Expectations
43.0
▼ −4.4% m/m
· — y/y
Buyer traffic
23.0
▼ −8.0% m/m
· — y/y

Revision check

REVISIONS DETECTED (3) — since first published. Every change below is calculated on the revised figures.
Single-family housing starts · April 2026930→914▼ −16,000
Single-family housing starts · May 2026882→897▲ +15,000
Single-family housing starts · March 20261,032→1,017▼ −15,000

Key figures

Headline →July 2026June 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Housing Market Index
consensus 35
34.036.0▼ −2.0 pts▼ −5.6%▪ —— 
Current sales conditions37.038.0▼ −1.0 pts▼ −2.6%▪ —— 
Sales expectations, next 6 months43.045.0▼ −2.0 pts▼ −4.4%▪ —— 
Traffic of prospective buyers23.025.0▼ −2.0 pts▼ −8.0%▪ —— 
Trend bars show the level over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.
Regional indexes (3-month moving average) →July 2026June 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Northeast45.0—▪ ——▪ —— 
Midwest45.0—▪ ——▪ —— 
South33.0—▪ ——▪ —— 
West26.0—▪ ——▪ —— 
Trend bars show the level over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.

What stood out

  • 30-year fixed mortgage rate: 5 straight months of increase.
  • Single-family housing starts: 3 straight months of decline.

Full detail

Show every category and subcategory
Full detail — builder incentives and market context →July 2026June 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %
Share of builders cutting prices37.0%35.0%▲ +2.0 pp—▪ ——
Average price reduction6.0%6.0%▪ 0.0 pp—▪ ——
Share using sales incentives63.0%62.0%▲ +1.0 pp—▪ ——
30-year fixed mortgage rate
Freddie Mac PMMS weekly average, via FRED
6.5%6.5%▲ +0.1 pp—▼ −0.2 pp—
Single-family housing startsREVISED
SAAR, thousands of units — Census, for context
895897▼ −2,000▼ −0.2%▼ −30,000▼ −3.2%

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-08-03 13:20 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.