Seeing Green Shoots in this Homebuilder Measure

Homebuilder sentiment was measured this week, and it showed that while builders are generally feeling positive about their sector, they are not as giddy as they were a few months back. So what does the Housing Market Index say for real estate? See the whole story at Latest Homebuilder Measure Offers Reason to Believe.

Housing Relative Shares	05-17 to 05-19 Close
SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB)	-0.5%
PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM)	-2.1%
D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI)	-0.7%
K.B. Homes (NYSE: KBH)	-0.8%
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL)	-0.4%
Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV)	+0.6%
Lennar (NYSE: LEN)	-0.8%

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only. Editor's Note: Article should interest investors in Investors Title (Nasdaq: ITIC), Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC.OB), Fannie Mae (OTC: FNMA.OB), UltraShort Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: SRS), Ultra Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: URE), ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (NYSE: IGR), Xinyuan Real Estate Co. (NYSE: XIN), Rydex Real Estate Fund H (Nasdaq: RYHRX), T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund (Nasdaq: TRREX), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH), Lennar (NYSE: LEN), K.B. Homes (NYSE: KBH), Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR), Gafisa SA (NYSE: GFA), MDC Holdings (NYSE: MDC), Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL), Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), Brookfield Homes (NYSE: BHS), Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF), M/I Homes (NYSE: MHO), Orleans Homebuilders (AMEX: OHB), Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSE: VNQ), PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Hooker Furniture (Nasdaq: HOFT), Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR), Williams Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowes (NYSE: LOW), Nasdaq: XNFZX, Nasdaq: FSAZX, Avatar Holdings (Nasdaq: AVTR), Apartment Investment & Management (NYSE: AIV), Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), Avalonbay Communities (NYSE: AVB), UDR Inc. (NYSE: UDR), Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS), Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), Senior Housing Properties (NYSE: SNH), BRE Properties (NYSE: BRE), Home Properties (NYSE: HME), Mid-America Apartment (NYSE: MAA), Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE: ELS), American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC), Colonial Properties (NYSE: CLP), American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC), Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI), Associated Estates (NYSE: AEC), PennyMac Mortgage (NYSE: PMT), Two Harbors (AMEX: TWO), Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG).

Real Estate - Fresh Data Dispels Housing Concern

A sharp decrease in existing home sales for February recently raised concern about the state of the real estate market. I believe the cause of the decrease was anomalous in nature, and data reported on Wednesday seems to confirm my view. I believe this fresh data along with a report from earlier in the week should dispel concern about housing. See more of this report here: Fresh Data Dispels Concern About Housing.

Housing Relative Shares	03-31-16 Approx. Noon
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY)	+0.2%
SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB)	+0.7%
iShares US Real Estate (NYSE: IYR)	+0.5%
D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI)	+0.2%
K.B. Home (NYSE: KBH)	+2.6%
J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM)	-0.1%
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)	+0.1%
MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG)	+0.5%
Radian Group (NYSE: RDN)	+0.2%
Investors Title (Nasdaq: ITIC)	+0.0%
Home Depot (NYSE: HD)	+0.5%
iShares Mortgage Real Estate (NYSE: REM)	+0.7%
Invesco Mortgage Capital (NYSE: IVR)	+1.6%
New Residential Investment (NYSE: NRZ)	+1.1%

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only. This article should interest investors in residential REITs like American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC), American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC), Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY), Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE: AIV), Apollo Residential Mortgage (Nasdaq: AMTG), ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE: ARR), Associated Estates Realty (NYSE: AEC), AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB), BRE Properties (NYSE: BRE), Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), Campus Crest Communities (NYSE: CCG), Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE: CLP), CYS Investments (NYSE: CYS), Education Realty Trust (NYSE: EDR), Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE: ELS), Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS), Hatteras Financial (NYSE: HTS), Home Properties (NYSE: HME), Maxus Realty Trust (OTC: MRTI.PK), Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE: MAA), New York Mortgage Trust (Nasdaq: NYMT), PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT), Post Properties (NYSE: PPS), Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH), Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI), Two Harbors Investment (NYSE: TWO) and UDR (NYSE: UDR).

Existing Home Sales Collapsed - The Reason Not to Worry

Last week provided some eye-catching real estate data, namely a severe dip in existing home sales for February. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports the data and speculated that the meaningful decline might be due to the tight inventory situation. However, I see a temporary issue at play in February that has since corrected. I expect that signals that the pace of home sales will be restored in short time. Real estate investors can rest easy, as I see this year’s expansion for housing intact. See more on why you can rest easy about the decline in existing home sales.

Housing Relative Shares	Year-to-Date
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY)	+0.2%
SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB)	-3.2%
iShares US Real Estate (NYSE: IYR)	+1.2%
Pultegroup (NYSE: PHM)	+2.2%
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL)	-13.9%
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)	-18.8%
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)	-9.7%
MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG)	-17.2%
Radian Group (NYSE: RDN)	-12.0%
Investors Title (Nasdaq: ITIC)	-8.6%
iShares Mortgage Real Estate (NYSE: REM)	-1.4%
Invesco Mortgage Capital (NYSE: IVR)	-2.1%
New Residential Investment (NYSE: NRZ)	-3.7%

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only. Editor's Note: Article should interest investors in Investors Title (Nasdaq: ITIC), Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC.OB), Fannie Mae (OTC: FNMA.OB), UltraShort Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: SRS), Ultra Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: URE), ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (NYSE: IGR), Xinyuan Real Estate Co. (NYSE: XIN), Rydex Real Estate Fund H (Nasdaq: RYHRX), T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund (Nasdaq: TRREX), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH), Lennar (NYSE: LEN), K.B. Homes (NYSE: KBH), Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR), Gafisa SA (NYSE: GFA), MDC Holdings (NYSE: MDC), Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL), Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), Brookfield Homes (NYSE: BHS), Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF), M/I Homes (NYSE: MHO), Orleans Homebuilders (AMEX: OHB), Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSE: VNQ), PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Hooker Furniture (Nasdaq: HOFT), Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR), Williams Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowes (NYSE: LOW), Nasdaq: XNFZX, Nasdaq: FSAZX, Avatar Holdings (Nasdaq: AVTR), Apartment Investment & Management (NYSE: AIV), Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), Avalonbay Communities (NYSE: AVB), UDR Inc. (NYSE: UDR), Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS), Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), Senior Housing Properties (NYSE: SNH), BRE Properties (NYSE: BRE), Home Properties (NYSE: HME), Mid-America Apartment (NYSE: MAA), Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE: ELS), American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC), Colonial Properties (NYSE: CLP), American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC), Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI), Associated Estates (NYSE: AEC), PennyMac Mortgage (NYSE: PMT), Two Harbors (AMEX: TWO), Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG).