EDGE Provincetown

There are several mistakes that first time home buyers make that are easily avoided. The idea is to not be impulsive or succumb to wishful thinking.

U.S. home prices jumped 3.8 percent in the 12 months ending in July, according to a private real estate data provider. The year-over-year increase was the biggest in six years.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index surged six points this month to 35, the highest reading since March 2007.

Optimism is in short supply among U.S. homebuilders, a sign that the depressed housing market will slow the economy’s gains this year. The outlook by builders hasn’t improved since the fall, when new-home sales were in the midst of their bleakest year.

Builders began work on fewer homes, shopping centers and other projects in 2010, pushing total building activity down to the lowest point in a decade.

U.S. homebuilders battered by the worst summer for home sales in a decade are already looking ahead to spring, saying they feel somewhat more optimistic about the prospect for an uptick in sales.

Builders are pessimistic about the housing market, but are seeing a little more foot traffic after the worst summer for home sales in a decade.