The National Association of Home Builders reports that builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes held steady in September after four consecutive months of improvements. This year, the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers increased one point, to 47, the highest since October 2005. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good rather than poor.

The survey, which the NAHB has conducted for 25 years, asks new home builders to rate their perceptions of the current market for their product, as well as their expectations for sales over the next six months. It also measures current buyer traffic as high to very high, average, or low to very low.

In addition to the positive outlook from the NAHB, the September Economic Forecast from Fannie Mae also noted the steady increase in builder sentiment. Fannie Mae’s economists stated that the “four month run-up as of the August report flew in the face of declining new home sales reported by the Census Bureau and suggested that either the builders somehow knew that the decline would be short-lived or the builders would soon reverse directions.”