The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index, which is a near real-time read on builder confidence, rose two points to 44 in March. Among the components of the index, current sales conditions rose two points to 49 while buyer traffic was up three points to 31, marking the strongest traffic reading since last September. Sales expectations for the next six months ticked a point lower to 47.

What’s the bottom line? Overall, home builder confidence has now risen 13 points since the low of 31 in December. Even though the reading is below 50, which signals contraction territory, sentiment is clearly rebounding and moving in the right direction.