Home builders’ confidence falters
From Times wire reports
With the double-digit drop in housing starts, it’s not surprising that optimism among U.S. home builders plunged this month to the lowest since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The National Assn. of Home Builders’ housing market index, a gauge of builder sentiment, dropped to 52, the lowest since November 2001 and down from 62 in February. It was the biggest drop in the index since the group started keeping records in 1985.
