ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Housing Market Intro and Summary The housing market’s comfortable calm continued into September even as the stock prices of home builders raced downward. A general sell-off in the stock market ensnared housing-related stocks. Yet, the housing data reported in September showed little change from the prior month. While home builder stocks ignore the calm in … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary Despite more evidence of slowing conditions in the housing market, home builder stocks remained relatively resilient in August. The underlying dynamics of demand remain in place even as housing prices remain lofty and continue to conjure up images of a housing bubble for market commentators and pundits. A supportive Federal … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary “When will the housing market crash?” I hear this question from people astounded by the housing market’s strong performance during the pandemic. The housing market is not heading into a crash anytime soon. Demand remains strong, inventories are scarce, mortgage rates are rock bottom, home buyers are in strong financial … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary The housing data for April and now May confirm that the housing market had a kind of false start to the Spring selling season. Normalization continues to pressure short-term trends. Housing starts, new home sales, existing home sales, and home builder sentiment are in key downtrends. These measures are now … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary The Spring selling season looked like it started strong for new home sales. The data for April reveal a story evolving differently. Absolute inventories rose for both existing and new homes and yet sales declined. Housing starts also suffered a setback. Median prices of homes soared, especially for new homes, … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary In March, home builder stocks pushed through softening housing data thanks in large part to builder-specific catalysts. In April, a series of strong earnings reports and a healthy rebound in the new homes market combined to propel most housing-related stocks higher still. The contrast between existing and new homes stood … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary Softening housing data pointed to more normalization in the housing market. Normalization is returning housing data to prior trends and in some cases suggesting important plateaus. Home builder stocks powered through the softening data to show strength in sharp rebounds and fresh all-time highs. The arrival of the Spring selling … Read more
Just as I was going about to close the books on the seasonal trade in home builders, Lennar (LEN) revived upward momentum across home builders. LEN gained 13.8% after announcing a partnership with Centerbridge to invest in rental single-family housing. News of the “Upward America Venture” lit a fire across the sector. However, the excitement … Read more
Mortgage rates are on the rise following record high lumber prices. Together, these measures are starting to weigh on the stocks of home builders. 30-Year Mortgage Rate The 30-Year fixed rate mortgage average in the United States hit 2.97% on Thursday, February 25th. Not only is this rate a 6-month high, but also the rise … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary In recent months a divergence in the housing market emerged between rangebound home builder stocks and strong housing data. In October, new home sales recorded a third straight month at the 1 million mark. Since new home sales hit an August peak, the stocks of home builders have also largely … Read more