Over the last year or so, home building stocks as measured by the S&P Homebuilders SPDR (NYSE:XHB) have had a pretty respectable run, topping the S&P 500 by about 20% or so. Of course, it must also be mentioned that this is a strong recovery off of a deep bottom, as a four-year comparison shows a painful drop of over 60% for holders of this ETF.
Among this year-long rebound has been a muddle of mixed messages, as sentiment feels worse than the numbers look. Low interest rates and tax credits have encouraged some buyers to get back in the market, and banks seem to be reporting some stabilization. Going a step further, prices seem to be creeping up again, housing inventories have leveled off, and sales appear to be growing.
That has not really been good news of late, though, for the shareholders of stocks like Pulte (NYSE:PHM), D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI), Lennar, or Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) as these stocks have all come off their highs lately. If these stocks can move unpredictably in the face of economic data, is there another data source for investors to watch?
The answer appears to be "yes".
To read about the linkage between lumber futures and housing stocks, continue on to:
http://stocks.investopedia.
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