Residential Construction
(DHI) National Association Of Homebuilder’s Index Drops
The National Association Of Homebuilders sentiment index fell to 15 in March from 17 in February. While the index is well off its record low of 8 set back in January 2009, it remains very depressed. The index is set up so any reading below 50 indicates contraction, and the current...
18Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DHI) U.S. Housing Starts Slow
In February, Housing Starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 575,000, a decline of 5.9% from the revised January level and just 0.2% above a year ago. While on first blush the data looks quite negative, there are many caveats. First, while the data is seasonally adjusted,...
16Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DHI) Total U.S. Construction Spending Declines
In January, total construction spending declined by 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 884.1 billion. That is 9.3% below the 974.3 billion rate of a year ago. However, residential construction spending actually rose by 1.1% on the month to an annual rate of $269.2 billion,...
1Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DHI) New Home Sales Report Shows Plunge
We got some very bad news today on the Housing front. New Home Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000 from 348,000 in December. That is a drop of 11.2%. The only real silver lining is that the December number was revised upwards from 342,000. The rate was...
24Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PHM) Pulte Homes Earnings Loss Widens
Pulte Homes (PHM) has shown a loss of $835 million or $2.21 per share (before special items) for the fourth quarter of 2009, driven by weak demand for new homes. This is much broader than the loss of $480 million or $1.89 per share (before special items) in the same quarter a...
10Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DHI) D.R. Horton Returns to Profitability
D.R. Horton (DHI) reported net income of $192.0 million or 56 cents per share for the first quarter of its fiscal 2010, compared to a net loss of $62.6 million or 20 cents per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. The current year quarter includes a tax benefit of $149.2...
2Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GFA) Gafisa S.A. – Bull of the Day
We are reiterating our Outperform recommendation on Gafisa S.A. (GFA). We have been encouraged by the Stimulus Package and the tax relief announced by the Brazilian government during 2009 and the strong economic recovery of the Brazilian internal market since the onset of the...
30Jan2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TOL) December New Home Sales Weak
New Home Sales fell 7.6% in December from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000. This was well below the consensus estimate of a 366,000 annual rate and even 8.6% below the year ago rate of 374,000. The major consolation in the report was that November was...
27Jan2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GFA) Gafisa SA – Third Quarter Sales Jumped 48%
Gafisa SA (GFA) is cashing in on Brazil’s growing need for housing as sales climbed in the third quarter. GFA has attractive valuations. It is trading at just 11.3x forward earnings. Company Description Gafisa is one of Brazil’s largest homebuilders. It has completed...
20Jan2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(KBH) KB Home Posts Mixed Bag
KB Home (KBH) shares are weak today after the company reported weaker-than-expected net order numbers for the fourth quarter 2009. Quarterly earnings, on the other hand, came in much better than expected, helped in large part by revenue from land sales. KBH has revealed a net...
12Jan2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LEN) Narrower Loss for Lennar Corporation
Lennar Corporation (LEN) showed a loss per share of 26 cents (before special items) for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended November 30, 2009, compared to an earnings per share of 43 cents (before special items) in the same quarter a year ago. However, the loss was better...
12Jan2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LEN) November New Home Sales Fall Down
In November, New Home Sales seriously disappointed by falling 11.3% from October levels to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 355,000. The rate was also 9.0% below the year-ago sales levels. The consensus expectations were for sales to be running at a 435,000 rate in November....
27Dec2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DHI) D.R. Horton’s Loss Widens
D.R. Horton (DHI) has revealed a net loss of $231.9 million or 73 cents per share for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2009 ended Sep 30, 2009, as the homebuilding industry faced several challenges such as rising foreclosures, high inventory levels of available homes, increasing...
25Nov2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DHI) Housing Starts and Building Permits Plunge
In October, Housing Starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just 529,000, a 10.6% decline from September and down 30.7% from a year ago. That puts housing starts at their lowest level since April, and takes a lot of steam out of the incipient economic recovery. Most...
18Nov2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PHM) Pulte Homes Loses $361 Million
Pulte Homes (PHM) reported a net loss of $361.4 million or $1.15 per share, inclusive of approximately $86.7 million of charges and transaction costs associated with its merger with Centex Corporation and $163.8 million in inventory impairments and other land-related charges....
4Nov2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BZH) New Home Sales Sink – Credit Rising
In distinct contrast to the existing home sales report last week, new home sales were ugly in September, falling 3.6% for the month and down 7.8% year over year. The seasonally adjusted annual rate in September was 402.000 down from 417,000 in August, which was revised down from...
28Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DHI) Housing Starts and Permits Disappoint
While there is ample evidence that the world economy is starting to pick up steam, one of the traditional engines for driving the U.S. economy out of recession is sputtering. Both Building Permits and Housing Starts for September came in well below expectations. Housing starts...
20Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DHI) New Home Sales: Some Good News
Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenter! More good news on the housing front: new home sales jumped 9.6% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000. In addition, June sales were revised up from 384,000 to 395,000. The jump in sales brought down inventories to 271,000...
26Aug2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(KBH) Housing Numbers: The Truth Behind It All
Ryan Cole, The Investment U Research Team Continuing our series looking at the truth behind current economic data, today we turn to housing numbers. Housing has been in the news lately, with a few “green shoots” of news. Most recently, home prices ticked upward last month,...
26Aug2009 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(LEN) There’s a Bull Sneaking Around
There’s a Bull Sneaking Around Quietly, there has been a bull sneaking around the markets over the past three weeks. The S&P 500 index (.INX) technically began a new uptrend on November 20. By climbing 20% from its low on the 8th to the 20th it became a new bull market...
17Dec2008 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued