More fresh reads on housing this week as an industry group reported applications for home mortgages rose last week — driven by refinancing demand — and home improvement retailer Lowe’s came out with second quarter earnings, lowering its outlook on sales for the year.
Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Aaron Task in the video above points to a “dichotomy in the housing market” as evidenced by the data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, which showed a seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications up 2.7% last week but a gauge of applications for home purchases falling 0.4%. The MBA points out a recent interest rate drop pushed mortgage rates lower.
In addition, with Lowe’s (LOW) reducing its sales forecast just a day after rival Home Depot reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its guidance, Task says there’s “something for bulls and bears alike” in the data. Task contends the difference between Lowe’s and Home Depot’s (HD) performance is likely retailer-specific versus reflective of the housing sector.
The bulls are also bolstered by data out Monday showing new home construction rose sharply in July to its highest level in eight months. The Commerce Department reported housing starts rose 15.7% to 1.09 million homes, beating expectations for 963,000.
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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/from-lowe-s-lowering-forecasts-to-the-uptick-in-refis–why-the-housing-market-is-approaching-normal-144631941.html
Just back out of hospital in early March for home recovery. Therapist coming today.
Sales fell 5.9% from September and 28.4% from one year ago.
Housing starts decreased 4.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units in…
OneKey MLS reported a regional closed median sale price of $585,000, representing a 2.50% decrease…
The prices of building materials decreased 0.2% in October
Mortgage rates went from 7.37% yesterday to 6.67% as of this writing.
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