The homebuilders association has their monthly report out. "Increased concerns about interest rates and housing affordability caused builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes to slip three more notches to 39, according to the National Association of Home Builders."

"'The HMI is down from its most recent cyclical high of 72 in June of last year, and reflects growing builder uncertainly on the heels of reduced sales and increased cancellations related to eroding affordability as well as an ongoing withdrawal of investors/speculators from the marketplace,' said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders."

"'But just as concerning to many builders is the potential for more monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve that could drive interest rates, and thereby homeownership costs, even higher,' Seiders added."

"All three component indexes fell in July. The largest decline was in the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months, which fell five points to 46. The index gauging current sales of new single-family homes fell four points to 43 and the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers fell two points to 27. Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor."

From MarketWatch. "Home builders' confidence plunged to a 15-year low in July. It's the fastest decline in the 21-year history of the index, which has had a fairly good record of predicting the number of new homes started."

"Sentiment of builders in the West, who have been the most optimistic, plunged nine points to 51. Sentiment fell five points to 36 in the Northeast and fell four points to 21 in the Midwest. Sentiment improved to 50 from 48 in the South. The index peaked at 72 last June and has fallen in 11 months since then."