NAHB housing market index rises to 44 in January

The National Association of Housebuilders' housing market index rose to 44 in January, up from 37 in the previous month, extending its rebound from a low touched in November and firmly above market expectations for a reading of 39.

January's improvement was principally due to a sustained decline in mortgage rates, with benchmark borrowing costs sitting below their Q4 peaks as a result of expectations for an incoming rate cut for the Federal Reserve.

The sub-index for current single-family homes rose by seven points from last month's upwardly revised number to 48, while the sub-index measuring prospective single-family home sales rose 12 points to 57 and the gauge for prospective buyers moved five points higher to 29.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast