Free Republic

The US housing market is in the midst of a “deep recession” that could put pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease up on interest rate hikes, a prominent economist warned on Monday. Homebuilder confidence declined for the ninth straight month in September as surging mortgage rates and steep prices pushed many buyers out of the market, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Builder confidence fell to its lowest level since 2014 when excluding the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the index showed. The prolonged downturn in confidence shows the housing market has been “in a tailspin...

KB Home expects 2008 to be as tough as last year KB Home, the fifth largest US homebuilder, has made quarterly loss of $773m (£392m) as the American housing market slowdown continues to bite.Reporting for the last three months of 2007, KB Home said it had written off $305.5m because of the reduced value of its housing and land stocks. The Los Angeles-based firm said its sales fell 22% in the quarter compared with the same time last year. KB Home, which saw revenues fall 31%, said it also expected a tough 2008. Record defaults The company's fourth quarter...

Maybe 2007 won't be such a bad year for homebuilders after all. As industry players fight back against a difficult market, investors appear to be sensing some progress. Case in point: Lennar (LEN) shares climbed Jan. 17 after the company announced that its earnings in 2007 could top those of 2006. And further serving to buttress investor optimism, the monthly National Assn. of Home Builders survey released Jan. 17 contained more good news. The overall index rose to a higher than expected 35 level in January from 33 in December, which was revised upward from 32. The main source of...