US housing market index falls to lowest level in over a decade

The National Association of Home Builders' housing market index fell for the tenth month in a row in October, dropping to 38 and well and truly missing market forecasts for a print of 43.

The housing market index now sits at just half the level it was only six months ago after dropping to the lowest print seen since August 2012 as rising interest rates, building material bottlenecks, and elevated home prices continued to weigh on affordability.

"High mortgage rates approaching 7% have significantly weakened demand, particularly for first-time and first-generation prospective home buyers," said NAHB chairman Jerry Konter.

Current sales conditions fell 9 points to 45, while sales expectations in the next six months declined 11 points to 35, and traffic of prospective buyers fell 6 points to 25.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com