Summary Box: Weak economy, competition from foreclosures push down builder confidence

Summary Box: Homebuilder confidence sinks

FALLING CONFIDENCE: Developers’ confidence about the housing market dropped for the third straight month in August as the struggling economy and a flood of cheap foreclosed properties kept people from buying new homes.

INDEX SINKS: The National Association of Home Builders said its monthly index of builders’ sentiment about the housing market fell to the lowest reading since March 2009.

BUYERS GONE: Fewer people are buying new homes, even though prices have stabilized in the past year and those who have good credit can qualify for the lowest mortgage rates in decades.