The National Association of Home Builders said today that builder confidence has reached its lowest level in more than 15 months.

The Housing Market Index, derived from a monthly survey that the association conducts, declined one point to its lowest level since March 2009.

The decline in builder confidence comes after a period when new home sales in the Triangle got a major boost from the federal tax credits for first-time and repeat homebuyers.

New home sales in Wake, Durham, Orange, Johnston, Chatham and Franklin counties increased 33 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises, a Rocky Mount firm that tracks Triangle real estate.

By comparison, existing home sales rose 24 percent in the Triangle during the same period.

The number of residential lots purchased during the second quarter also surged, jumping 131 percent compared to the second quarter of 2009.
 

Clean energy aficionados will have a packed calendar for green networking next month if they attend a series of conferences scheduled in Raleigh.

At least three green-themed conferences are scheduled in May in less than two weeks, with two of those confabs taking place simultaneously at two different venues.