Housing Downturn 2020: LGI Homes Breaks to Fresh Low

It seems like an eternity has passed since LGI Homes (LGIH) reported yet one more bullish home closings report. For February, LGIH reported a year-over-year increase in home closings of 54.2% and a year-over-year increase of 57.1% in January and February combined. With another home closings report due soon, it looks like the stock market … Read more

The U.S. Dollar Remains Well-Supported Despite A Month of Wild Swings

When the stock market sell-off began in earnest in late February, the U.S. dollar index (DXY) surprisingly plunged along with the major indices. I accepted the narrative explaining that the dollar’s decline came from the euro’s gain as “risk-off” traders rushed to close out euro shorts in carry trades. The swiftness of the risk-off move … Read more

Housing Downturn: Put Spring’s Momentum On the Shelf – Housing Market Review (March, 2020)

Housing Market Intro/Summary The housing market has become a lot more dynamic than usual, so over the past few months I have written more pieces beyond the monthly housing market review. The current economic crisis coming from the coronavirus pandemic has increased my frequency of coverage. The most telling moments came when I wrote to … Read more

Housing Downturn 2020: Redfin Transitions from Hopeful to Defensive

The change was swift and dramatic. In mid-February, Redfin (RDFN) delivered a very bullish earnings report proclaiming it’s on “like Donkey Kong.” In the face of nascent concerns about the coronavirus (covid-19) threat, on March 11th Redfin (RDFN) delivered a semi-reassuring press release titled “Housing Demand Holding Up Surprisingly Well, For Now.” Two weeks and … Read more