Builder Confidence Healthy in July courtesy of The Deem Team

Builder confidence is healthy, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The Index reading is 68; an above-50 reading indicates more builders have a positive outlook than a negative one.

"Consumer demand for single-family homes is holding strong this summer, buoyed by steady job growth, income gains and low unemployment in many parts of the country," said Randy Noel, chairman of the NAHB, in a statement.

"Builders are encouraged by growing housing demand, but they continue to be burdened by rising construction material costs," said Robert Dietz, chief economist at the NAHB. "Builders need to manage these cost increases as they strive to provide competitively-priced homes, especially as more first-time homebuyers enter the housing market."