Divergent Fortunes and Trends – Housing Market Review (June, 2020)

Housing Market Intro and Summary I asked in my last Housing Market Review whether the housing downturn could already be coming to a swift end. The stocks of home builders delivered that message and more and more earnings reports from home builders are apparently delivering messages of a sharp recovery. A widening divergence between existing … Read more

A Stock Market On Edge – Above the 40 (June 26, 2020)

Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 40.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (2-month low)AT200 = 20.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 34.7Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary After a one-day respite, the damage in the stock market continued. This time, the damage was more … Read more

Why Lennar and Other Home Builder Stocks Failed to Rally On Good News

The Message in Home Builder Sentiment The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported a tremendous surge in the sentiment of home builders. The Housing Market Index (HMI) soared from 37 in May to 58 in June. Just two months after suffering a historic plunge, sentiment among home builders is right back to positive territory. … Read more

Panic Buying, Catch-Up Trades Further Extend Overbought Stock Market – Above the 40 (June 5, 2020)

Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 90.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (overbought 13 of last 14 trading days)AT200 = 37.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (highest since February 26, 2020)VIX = 24.5Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Stock Market Commentary The on-going recovery in the stock market … Read more

TRI Pointe Group Provides Early Evidence of V-Shaped Housing Recovery

I still can hardly believe my eyes, but it seems that a V-shaped recovery is truly underway in the housing market. In my last Housing Market Review, I wrote about housing-related stocks printing V-shaped recoveries ahead of data suggesting that such a recovery was underway. Last week’s sales activity report from home builder TRI Pointe … Read more

Housing Downturn: V-Like Recoveries In Stocks Tug On Sluggish Data – Housing Market Review (May, 2020)

Housing Market Intro and Summary Could the housing downturn already be coming to a swift end? The stocks of home builders are delivering this message. They have enjoyed a very healthy rally and recovery from the depths of the March stock market crash. The challenges ahead are large: worsening economic conditions, unemployment at historically high … Read more

Meritage Homes: Stock Leads Home Builders In V-Shaped Recovery

A Startling V-Shaped Recovery Meritage Homes (MTH) has become a poster child for the near V-shaped recovery for housing-related stocks. MTH achieved a startling feat on the heels of a 3.5% gain: at its highs of the day, Meritage Homes reached its post-earnings stock price on January 30th which in turn was close to a … Read more

Stock Market Breaks Out to Overbought Territory Yet Again – Above the 40 (May 18, 2020)

Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 75.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (first oversold day)AT200 = 18.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 29.3Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary Buyers followed through on the building momentum from the previous two trading days which drew a line … Read more

Latest Housing Starts, Construction Employment Undermine Strong Q1 GDP

U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2020 (advanced estimate) plunged by 4.8% as the coronavirus pandemic put the economy on lockdown. The following categories made positive contributions to GDP in ascending order of their contribution to the percentage change: Housing and utilities: .08% Change in farm inventories: 0.10% Government consumption expenditures … Read more

Housing Downturn: Optimism Races Ahead of the Data – Housing Market Review (April, 2020)

The iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction Index (ITB) gained 4.2% and closed at a 2-month high.

Housing Market Intro and Summary Something surprising is happening in the middle of the current downturn in the housing market: buyers keep coming and home builders are staying resilient and resolute. A series of earnings reports from publicly traded home builders do not reflect the historic plunge in builder sentiment from April (see below). The … Read more