Builder sentiment rises from record low

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Battered housing developers are getting a bit more optimistic about their prospects for the next six months, an index of the sector's confidence showed Tuesday.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index rose two points to 18 this month from an all-time low of 16 in July and August.

The survey was taken in the first 10 days of September, and for the most part doesn't reflect the fall in mortgage rates since the government's takeover of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It also doesn't take into account this week's Wall Street turmoil, which may push rates downward as nervous investors move into government bonds.

Immediately after the Fannie and Freddie seizure, "the positive impact on mortgage rates was probably not apparent to many builders," the trade group's chief economist, David Seiders, said in an interview.

Average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 5.93% last week, down from 6.35% on the Thursday before the takeover, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Rates had been bouncing between 6% and 6.5% since late May.