U.S. homebuilder confidence in the current housing market held steady but builders are optimistic that sales will pick up in the coming months, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Why the optimism? As the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

A key reason homebuilders are more optimistic is that they have seen more people express interest in buying a home. And growing interest has occurred alongside other improvements that suggest the troubled housing market could pick up after four weak years.