US households have built up massive equity in their homes, but homeowners are not rushing to tap into equity. Rising rates are probably to blame. The situation is unlikely to get better in quarters to come, as the Fed keeps … Continued
Homebuilder optimism is catching up with weakening home sales. Starts have responded and inventory is sharply rising – a byproduct of rapidly appreciating prices and a rise in mortgage rates. Buyers need to see relief on both these fronts before … Continued
The rise in supply of new homes is coming amidst relatively soft sales, inflated prices and now rising mortgage rates. Concurrently, builder sentiment is off its high but remains elevated, even as ITB is below potentially crucial $66. Sales of … Continued
Last week, Fed officials threw cold water on incipient taper talk, making it clear they would continue to purchase treasury securities. This followed a backup this month in rates in the long end of the treasury yield curve, with the … Continued
After a 19-percent peak-to-trough drop, ITB defends crucial support Wednesday. Is this part of a normal correction or something is amiss in housing? In the last several sessions, tons of stocks as well as equity ETF’s and indices were literally … Continued
Of late, momentum in U.S. sales of both new and existing homes Post-bubble burst, price has appreciated much faster than sales improvement Builders express optimism but are cautious in starting construction; inventory well-behaved The upward pressure on U.S. home prices … Continued
Over the past couple of days, U.S. housing produced two good reports for the month of May. Monday, existing home sales were published, coming in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units – up 5.1 percent month-over-month … Continued
U.S. home builder sentiment in June jumps, to match post-bubble high of last September Recent spike in interest rates, if sticks, potentially shot across housing bow ITB acts tentative, but has not given up on crucial 26 support U.S. home … Continued
Solid improvement in U.S. home prices comes with cost Peak bubble home ownership at 69-percent-plus anomaly not average Price weakness in recent months plus mortgage-rate tailwind unable to seriously ignite sales Leading up to the epic housing bubble in the … Continued
The piece yesterday on U.S. housing was based on June’s numbers. New-home sales data came out yesterday, and it was anything but encouraging. Year-over-year, sales (seasonally adjusted annual rate) rose 12.2 percent but fell 2.4 percent month-over-month. The latter helps … Continued