Homebuilders and Housing Tank into Fiscal Cliff

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By Jon C. Ogg Published

Monopoly houses

The resolution for the fiscal cliff remains elusive. The politicians hate each other too much to be rational. If one sector has a lot to lose as the country drives off of the fiscal cliff in a “Thelma & Louise” fashion, it is the housing sector. Shares homebuilders are down but the sector around retail and insuring mortgages is also down. Here is how some of the key homebuilders are doing themselves:

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is down 2.3% at $19.65 against a 52-week range of $12.06 to $22.79.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is down 3.6% at $15.03 against a 52-week range of $6.17 to $17.30.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) is down 2.6% at $38.27 against a 52-week range of $18.83 to $39.88.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) is down 2.6% at $18.00 against a 52-week range of $5.88 to $18.86.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is down 2.8% at $31.41 against a 52-week range of $19.63 to $37.08.

We are also seeing an impact in the retailers tied to home improvements:

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) is down 1.5% at $61.05 against a 52-week range of $41.52 to $65.92, and Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is down 1.2% at $34.96 against a 52-week range of $24.76 to $36.47.

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG), a home mortgage insurer, is down almost 3% at $2.33 against a 52-week range of $0.66 to $5.15. Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) is down by 2.5% at $5.19 against a 52-week range of $2.00 to $5.55.

The SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSEMKT: XHB) is down 1.6% at $26.35, but this is 1% higher than the lows after the open.

Another Christmas present from Washington D.C.

JON C. OGG

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
About the Author 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.

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