Century Communities Earnings Q3 2019: Strong Top Line Not Enough to Cover Question Marks

Overall Assessment I want to be bullish on Century Communities (CCS). Century Communities sports a recession-level valuation and a strong top-line growth profile. The company’s business model is solidly planted in the entry-level and lower-priced homes that are prime drivers of the current housing market. However, a negative cash balance, negative earnings growth (over the … Read more

Meritage Homes Rides the Wave of Entry-Level Homes

Meritage Homes (MTH) has yet to make additional progress after a large post-earnings gap up.

Overall Assessment I am bullish on Meritage Homes (MTH). Both the fundamentals and the technicals on the company and stock look good even following the strong performance this year and following the last earnings report. I am very late on digging into Meritage’s latest story despite pointing out the stock’s strength several times over the … Read more

Real Estate Pairs Trade Refresh: Long Redfin, Short Zillow Group

The ratio of Redfin (RDFN) vs Zillow Group (Z) (ZG) is bouncing off its well-supported historic lows.

My last pairs trade going long Redfin (RDFN) calls versus long Zillow Group (Z) (ZG) put options did not work out as I over-extended my stay on RDFN. A fresh opportunity for a pairs trade has arrived with RDFN neatly testing key support after reversing most of its post-earnings gains and with Zillow Group in … Read more

Realogy and Amazon.com Partner Up But Does It Matter?

Realogy (RLGY) is struggling to avoid a resumption of its vicious downtrend.

Two weeks ago I threw up a chart of Realogy (RLGY) just to have something bearish to show among a group of bullish charts. I wondered why this company of real estate agents and brokers was in a persistent decline while housing-related stocks were generally holding up well. On July 23, Realogy rolled out what … Read more

Housing Market Review (June, 2019) – An On-Going Push Against the Seasonal Top

Housing Market Intro/Summary After writing the last Housing Market Review, I was convinced a triple top had appeared in the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB). The May sell-off in the stock market pushed ITB into a breakdown below its 50-day moving average (DMA). Immediately after that post, ITB rebounded right through its 50DMA and … Read more

Housing Market Review (April, 2019) – Housing Sentiment Leans Against Seasonality and Fresh Declines In Key Data

Housing Market Intro/Summary In the March Housing Market Review, I described how the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) was breaking out despite an unimpressive collection of housing data (in the aggregate and trendwise). Last month, I updated my analysis of the seasonal trading strategy for home builders and pointed out the historical tendency for … Read more

Home Builder Index Achieves A Major Milestone

The iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) has essentially reversed its entire breakdown that began in October. ITB is now up 24.4% for the year and up 30.9% from the December low. These gains outpace the S&P 500’s (SPY) rebound of 15.2% for the year and 22.8% since the December low. This out-performance means that … Read more

Housing Market Review (March, 2019) – A Recovery Straining Against the Data

Housing Market Intro/Summary In the January Housing Market Review, I described a pause in the bad housing data long enough to allow the stocks of home builders to rally sharply with the stock market. The iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) was testing resistance at its 200-day moving average (DMA); that moment turned out to … Read more

A Big Bet On Home Builders As Seasonal Trade Winds Down

On March 25th, CNBC’s Fast Money discussed very active options trading in the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction Index (ITB). Call option volume was triple put option volume. Of note, some trader purchased 5000 April 12 $35 weekly calls with ITB trading at $34.60 and just under its 200-day moving average (DMA). That trader … Read more

Housing Market Review (February, 2019) – A Potentially Peaking Recovery

Housing Market Intro/Summary {This post marks the last one impacted by the previous U.S. government shutdown. I delayed publishing until I gathered a complete set of January’s housing market data. At the time of writing February’s data are rolling in}. In the January Housing Market Review, I described a pause in the bad housing data … Read more