Deciphering the Bearish Case: Is it Time to Short ITB?

Uptrend in ITB: An Observation of 20-Day and 50-Day Moving Averages The calendar for the seasonal trade in home builders has come to an end. Yet, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) looks as strong as ever. The uptrend in ITB is well-defined by a primary uptrend in the 20-day moving average (DMA) (the … Read more

Solid Spring Demand Brings A Bullish Reversal and All-Time Highs – The Housing Market Review

bullish reversal new home sales and construction (Credit: Wonderlane on Flickr)

Housing Market Intro and Summary The fresh hope from a peak in mortgage rates has expanded into an ever stronger spring selling season for the housing market. Despite double digit year-over-year declines keeping existing home sales and housing starts in recessions, new home sales have almost reversed all their losses since the Fed started hiking … Read more

Can A Market Be Both Complacent and Oversold? – The Market Breadth

complacent and oversold (Credit: sonstroem on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary: Yes. The stock market can be both complacent and oversold. A week ago I described how stocks left regional banks behind. Last week, the overall market took comfort in the on-going, yet narrowing, strength in big cap tech stocks even as industrials and other economically sensitive stocks stumbled into weakness. The resulting … Read more

Fresh Hope from A New Peak in Mortgage Rates – Housing Market Review

fresh hope (Credit: kitty.green66 on Flickr)

Housing Market Intro and Summary Real estate is local. Regional banks often sit at the heart of local communities. So it seems odd writing about the relative strength in the housing market in the wake of the Panic of 2023 that featured the historic collapse of two regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB) and Signature … Read more

Uptrend Survives Increased Mortgage Rate Risks – Housing Market Review

survives (Credit: norfolkdistrict on Flickr)

Housing Market Intro and Summary In my last Housing Market Review, I described a housing market that shows signs of stabilization. That stabilization continues despite a strong rebound in mortgage rates. Mortgage rates now look like a renewed risk to the housing market. However, the uptrend in most of the stocks of home builders are … Read more

A Question for the Year’s First 6 Weeks – The Market Breadth

question for the first 6 weeks of the year (Credit: Leo Reynolds on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary: Was the second trading day of February the peak for the S&P 500? After a 1.4% gain nearly finished reversing the losses from last August’s Jackson Hole, the index lost momentum. While the index churned for the following 2 weeks, trashed stocks from 2022 continued to soar. Even that momentum seemed to … Read more

Signs of Stabilization Ahead of the Spring Selling Season – Housing Market Review

stabilization (Credit: Washington State Office of Transportation on Flickr)

Housing Market Intro and Summary In my last Housing Market Review, I laid out the case for bracing for what 2023 would bring even as “faint signs of a bottoming for sentiment have started to appear.” The latest housing data and industry expectations suggest that the market is well-braced for 2023. The signs of bottoming … Read more

How Home Builder Stocks Trade In A Seasonal Pattern

seasonal pattern home builders (Credit: Housing Market by free pictures of money on Flickr)

Introduction The U.S. housing market follows a seasonal pattern. The spring selling season represents the year’s peak of home sales. During this time, households try to settle into a new home before summer travel or well ahead of the Fall start to the next school year. The stocks of home builders also approximate a seasonal … Read more

Bracing for 2023 – Housing Market Review

bracing for 2023 (Credit: Bracing for the storm by mick62 on Flickr)

Housing Market Intro and Summary A continued respite from rising rates gave some breathing room for new home sales to stabilize in November while existing home sales continued to plunge with a dearth of inventory helping to suck air out of the room. Housing starts continued to plunge in parallel with home builder sentiment. However, … Read more

A Respite from Rising Rates – Housing Market Review

respite (Credit: Short respite for the Ruby Mountain Crew while cutting fire line in Division W by USFS Rocky Mtns from Flickr)

Housing Market Intro and Summary In my last Housing Market Review, I described how a housing recession was reflected in the worsening housing data, including the latest report on U.S. GDP. While new home sales made another surprise bounce in October, the rest of the housing data continued to worsen in the month. However, a … Read more