U.S. homebuilder sentiment advanced in December to the highest level since 1999 amid stronger sales and a surge in prospective-buyer foot traffic.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index jumped 5 points to 76, the biggest monthly increase since the end of 2017, and the November figure was revised higher, according to data released Monday, Dec. 16. The reading topped all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists that had called for 70.

The readings add to other brighter assessments of the economy on Monday. A Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey showed manufacturers in the state are growing more upbeat, with the gauge of the orders outlook rising to the strongest since February. Elsewhere, two surveys of U.S. factories and service companies suggested economic growth is holding up at a modest pace.