US July homebuilder sentiment at 16-year low -NAHB

NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilder sentiment slid in July to its lowest since January 1991 as fallout from the housing slump and subprime mortgage crisis caused a glut of new homes, the National Association of Home Builders said on Tuesday.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index fell to 24 from 28 in June, the group said in a statement. Economists polled by Reuters had thought it would slip to 27. Readings below 50 mean more builders view market conditions as poor than favorable.

"The bottom line is that the single-family housing market is still in a correction process following the historic and unsustainable highs of the 2003-2005 period," NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders said in the statement.