1 3rd builders optimistic sounds positive to some

below it states that one third of builders are optimistic, which sounds positive to some and looks good here, but with 2/3rds pessimistic the real truth is that builders are still having a bad time.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. home-builders' sentiment improved marginally in October, a sign the market may be "stabilizing," the National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo housing market index rose 1 point to 31 in October, indicating that about a third of builders are optimistic. The index had fallen for eight months in a row to a 15-year low of 30 in September.
The index was at 68 a year ago, with about two-thirds of builders optimistic about the market. The index peaked at 72 in June 2005. Read the full report.
The NAHB's index measures home-builders' attitudes about the market. The increase in October "suggests that builder attitudes for new-home sales may be stabilizing" at a low level, according to David Seiders, chief economist for the home-builders' industry group in Washington.
Builders are encouraged by lower mortgage rates, recent drops in energy prices and by their aggressive strategy of offering "substantial sales incentives," said David Pressly, a home builder from Statesville, S.C., who is president of the NAHB.
"This aggressive strategy is working," Pressly added. See related story on home-builders' incentives.
The collapsing housing market is the major question mark for the economy. The booming market and soaring prices had supported strong consumer spending and employment in the sector, but has now turned into a drag on growth.
"It is still too soon" to confirm a bottom in the market, said Brian Carey, an economist for Moody's Economy.com.
Two of the three components of the NAHB index increased in October, while the third was steady. The index for single-family home sales was steady at 32. The expected sales index rose by 4 points to 41, and the buyers' traffic index rose 1 point to 23.
The index fell in two regions and rose in the other two. Sentiment bounced back to 33 from 28 in the Northeast and to 20 from 16 in the Midwest, but it fell by 1 point in the South to 37 and plunged by 5 points to 32 in the West.
The NAHB report comes one day before the Commerce Department releases data on housing starts for September. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect starts to fall about 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.64 million from August's 1.665 million. Building permits are expected to slide 1.6% to 1.70 million. See Economic Preview.
Through August, housing starts were down about 25% year on year, the biggest drop in 15 years.