homebuilders

Sales of new homes plunged a record 33% in May to a record-low after the expiration of the federal tax credit subsidy for home buyers expired. Sales were a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 300,000, the lowest since record-keeping…

By John Lounsbury What is the best proxy for demand in the housing market?  How about lumber.  Here is one ugly chart, courtesy of finviz.com (with trend lines added by the author): For large graphic without added trend…

The following is the weekly commentary from Comstock Partners, which makes the point that housing has not turned the corner decisively and this is at odds with even the recent S&P bottom of 1040. While the market has been focused on…

Canada has had quite a run in its property market. But, the most recent data are a bit soft. David Rosenberg writes: After a string of above-expected economic data releases, Canadian housing starts missed the mark. Starts sunk 6.3% MoM,…

The National Association of Realtors® announced today that existing home sales dropped a hefty 7% in January, adding further evidence that the resurgence of the housing sector is stalling. Wednesday, we saw a very soft new home sales…

This comes today via Reuters: The Commerce Department said sales dropped 11.2 percent to a 309,000 unit annual rate, the lowest level since records started in January 1963, from an upwardly revised 348,000 in December. It was the…

Markets were disappointed by today’s unemployment data because they reveal how difficult it has been for the employment situation to improve in a meaningful way. The employment market is improving, just not as much as one would hope. Below…

Tilson is saying what I have been saying, namely that March saw an increased number of attractive buys, but most of these are now fully priced. As a result, he is selling equities - even building up his net short positions. Unlike bear…

The chain of events whereby easy money leads to malinvestment that impoverishes a society is now fully manifest in the United States.  You remember Victorville, CA where new homes were being demolished because it cost more to maintain them…

FT Alphaville is reporting that Martinsa Fadesa, the bankrupt Spanish property developer, has seen the value of its drop 30% this year alone. Spain has largely slipped from view as the credit crisis has reached global dimensions. However,…