The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose more-than-expected in February, increasing for the ninth consecutive month, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, Standard & Poor’s with Case-Shiller said its house price index rose at an annualized rate of 9.3% in February from a year earlier, above expectations for a 9% increase.
U.S. home prices in January rose by 8.1%.
Month-on-month, U.S. home prices rose 0.3% in February, compared to expectations for a 0.9% increase, after rising by 1% in the preceding month.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.19% to trade at 1.3073.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures were modestly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.1% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.1% increase.
The house price index just registered an annualized +9.3% number for February. If you’re still doubting the overwhelming data that is pointing to a very robust housing market, you’re an idiot.
Again, I will reiterate my belief that as prices rise, so will new home builds. To build homes, you need lots and lots of wall board.
Needless to say, I am long USG.
Another new residential construction play is TMHC.
Lenders will make a killing. I like NSM.
My favorite housing plays in the tech space are Z, TRLA and ANGI. Since I am constantly hosting construction workers at my house, I have a really good feel for the pulse of the market. Without equivocation, 9 out of 10 contractors are banking extreme amounts of coin via ANGI. Even my cleaning lady uses ANGI to garner new business.
ANGI makes money by charging users a small annual fee, like 10-15 bucks. And they make the bulk of their revenues by charging contractors a monthly advertising fee. My HVAC guy, who was just here fixing my retarded furnace, said he gets 5-10 new customers per week off ANGI, +50% from last year. He used to pay $150 per month to advertise, or get “bumped to top” on ANGI; but they just raised the prices to $250. He expects another rate increase when his contract is up next year and will gladly pay it, since it pays for itself.
He feels the service is “amazing.”
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