Builders' confidence in the new single-family homes market rose in August, as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index climbed to 18 from 17 in July.
Thomson Reuters' poll of economists predicted a level of 18.
This is the highest the index has been since June 2008.
The current single-family home sales index held at 16, while the sales expectations index for the next six months rose to 30 from 26 and the traffic of prospective buyers index rose to 16 from 13.