BUMMED BUILDERS

The latest homebuilder sentiment index was super-soft. The overall index slumped to 39 (50 is neutral) same as, ugh, 2/07, and two of the three subcomponents worsened, current sales to 43, prospective buyer traffic to 24, and sales expectations over the next six months remained unchanged at 47. Weather wasn’t to blame, all four regional scores slipped. No wonder S&P 500 homebuilder stocks are down 30% from their mid-October peak.