Housing

New Homes Sales Wreck Housing Players (HD, LOW, ITB, XHB)

The housing data keeps coming in with a mixed fan-fare.  The new home sales in America for the month of February fell 1.6% to 313,000 versus a Dow Jones consensus target of 325,000.  January was also revised slightly lower to…

By Jon C. Ogg
Published March 23, 2012, 10:27am ET · 1 min read

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Invalid Image
The housing data keeps coming in with a mixed fan-fare.  The new home sales in America for the month of February fell 1.6% to 313,000 versus a Dow Jones consensus target of 325,000.  January was also revised slightly lower to 318,000 from 321,000.  What is interesting is that the news comes at a time when so many market pundits are calling the bottom of housing.  It is also interesting that the rates for mortgages were lower in February and the March data that is surfacing indicates that weekly activities in new mortgages and in refinance mortgages.  Maybe housing is bottoming out, maybe not.  The data is still mixed even if this is just one of several key components which comprise a full 360-degree review of the U.S. housing market.

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) shares are down 1.8% at $48.78; Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is now down 2.6% at $30.13. iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction ETF (NYSE: ITB) is now down 3.7% at $14.29 on more than 1 million shares; SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB) is down 2.8% at $20.74.

JON C. OGG

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

*$149 for two years (or $1.43 per week) is an introductory promotion for new members only. 62% discount based on the current list price of Stock Advisor of $199/year. Membership will renew at the then-current list price at the end of the membership term.

Stock Advisor returns are 930% as compared to the S&P 500 returns of 185% as of April 7, 2026.

Jon C. Ogg

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. www.247wallst.com.

All articles →