Meritage Supersizes Its Warchest On the Heels of Another Outstanding Quarter

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 12, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) Meritage Homes (MTH) rolled out a series of announcements last week culminating in the pricing of 2.2M shares in a common stock offering at $45.75/share. With net proceeds of $95.9M, this … Read more

What the Homebuilders Said to Close Out 2013: All Eyes On the 2014 Spring Selling Season

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 6, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The above quote pretty much sums up the attitude of homebuilders (ITB) going into 2014. It sounds like a classic sales pitch from a real estate agent, but the evidence … Read more

Pent-Up Demand Pushes Up Housing Market Index

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 17, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) surged to 58 from 54. The NAHB pointed to pent-up housing demand from the government shutdown as a … Read more

The Coming Upward Pressure On Mortgage Rates In 2014

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 26, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) On Monday (November 25, 2013) the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a fifth straight month of declining pending home sales. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun projects that 2013 will end … Read more

The Housing Market Index: Strong Trends, Correlated Components, and A Weak Northeast

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 19, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) just released its November, 2013 report on builder confidence: the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). It showed no change from … Read more

Whirlpool Insists U.S. Housing Recovery and Homebuilding Look Fine From Its Perch

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 5, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Three months ago I wrote about about a disconnect that I perceived between investor assessments of Whirlpool (WHR) versus homebuilders like Tri Pointe Homes (TPH). {snip} Fast forward to November 4th … Read more

The National Association of Homebuilders Offers Sober Assessments of Economic and Political Impacts On the Housing Recovery

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 4, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) issued an important summary of recent economic and political news relevant to housing titled “Eye on the Economy: Slowing Sales.” Here are the key points … Read more

Increasing Australian Housing Prices Promise to Pressure Monetary Policy

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 4, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) latest report on housing prices in Australia’s eight capital cities demonstrates a market that remains hot, especially in Sydney. These increasing prices are no surprise … Read more

A Thematic Review of Focusing on Growth Within A Slow Housing Recovery: KB Home and Lennar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 20, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Homebuilders KB Home (KBH) and Lennar Corp. (LEN) both reported earnings on September 24th. I believe these were the first earnings reports for homebuilders after the Federal Reserve backed down from … Read more