NEW YORK (Reuters) -- U.S. homebuilder sentiment climbed for a second consecutive month in November as sales incentives improved affordability for consumers, the National Association of Home Builders said Thursday.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index rose to 33 in November from 31 in October, the group said in a statement. The index was at 30 in September, the lowest since 1991 when the economy was slipping into recession.

"More builders are seeing light at the end of the tunnel," David Pressly, NAHB president and a North Carolina home builder, said in a statement. Builders are continuing to offer "significant" sales incentives, he said.

Sales of new homes unexpectedly jumped for a second straight month in September as the median price dropped $22,200 from August, the Commerce Department said last month. The median price of $217,100 in September was down almost 10 percent from a year earlier.

The incentives to move swollen inventories have taken a toll on builders' profits, which are likely to remain weak in coming quarters, analysts said.

() the largest U.S. home builder, expects the current and following quarter will probably be "more challenging than the past three periods," its chief executive, Donald Tomnitz, said Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the NAHB index for November would be unchanged from October's 31 reading. The increase last month was the first after eight straight declines.

Readings above 50 mean more builders view market conditions as favorable than poor.

The component index of current sales conditions edged higher by 1 point in November to 33, the NAHB said.

The index of sales expectations in the next six months jumped 4 points to 46, and the measure of prospective buyer traffic increased 3 points to 26, it said.

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