Homebuilder Confidence in U.S. Reached Record Low in July (Courtney Schlisserman)

 July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence among U.S. homebuilders dropped to a record low in July, signaling the housing recession will continue.

The National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo sentiment index decreased to 16 from 18 in June, the Washington- based group said today. Readings under 50 mean most respondents view conditions as poor.

{xtypo_quote_right} "Given the systematic deterioration of job markets, rising energy costs and sinking home values aggravated by the rising tide of foreclosures, many prospective buyers have simply returned to the sidelines until conditions improve,'' David Seiders, chief economist at the builders' group, said in a statement. {/xtypo_quote_right} 

All of the gauge's three components were the lowest ever and pessimism grew in three of four regions. Rising unemployment, soaring food and energy costs and the prospect that property values will keep dropping may continue to hurt sales in coming months.

Housing ``is going to be in the dumps for a while,'' Ellen Zentner, an economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report. ``Prices are going to be depressed for some time.''

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