Housing Starts at 954K in December Beat Views; Homebuilders Rise (HOV) (PHM)
Tweet
Share
E-mail
Get Alerts DHI Hot Sheet
Price: $145.74 -0.21%
Overall Analyst Rating:
BUY (
Down)
Dividend Yield: 0.8%
Revenue Growth %: +1.9%
Overall Analyst Rating:
BUY (
Down)Dividend Yield: 0.8%
Revenue Growth %: +1.9%
Join SI Premium – FREE
Homebuilders are largely in positive territory Thursday following new housing data released earlier by the U.S. Census Bureau.
New housing starts were 954,000 for December 2012, a 12.1 percent increase over a revised 851,000 number for November and 36.9 percent over the December 2011 result. The Street consensus was looking for a more modest reading of 889,000 starts.
Single-family starts rose to 616,000, more than double the 330,000 reported in December 2011.
Building permits rose to 903,000 in the month, up 28.8 percent over the prior year and compared with the consensus of 900,000 permits.
The Southern U.S. led the way, with 450,000 starts for the month. The West saw 210,000, the Northeast at 94,000, and Midwest at 149,000 starts. The West was the biggest percentage gainer at 35.5 percent, while the Midwest saw a 33 percent increase.
Lower mortgage rates as well as the impending fiscal cliff may have prompted many to take action before the start of the new year. Though there was a slight uptick in January, rates have been in the lower- to mid-three percent range for a while now.
Traders will be keeping an eye on names like D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI0, Lennar (NYSE: LEN), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), Ryland (NYSE: RYL), Toll Bros. (NYSE: TOL), PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM), and more on the news Thursday morning.
New housing starts were 954,000 for December 2012, a 12.1 percent increase over a revised 851,000 number for November and 36.9 percent over the December 2011 result. The Street consensus was looking for a more modest reading of 889,000 starts.
Single-family starts rose to 616,000, more than double the 330,000 reported in December 2011.
Building permits rose to 903,000 in the month, up 28.8 percent over the prior year and compared with the consensus of 900,000 permits.
The Southern U.S. led the way, with 450,000 starts for the month. The West saw 210,000, the Northeast at 94,000, and Midwest at 149,000 starts. The West was the biggest percentage gainer at 35.5 percent, while the Midwest saw a 33 percent increase.
Lower mortgage rates as well as the impending fiscal cliff may have prompted many to take action before the start of the new year. Though there was a slight uptick in January, rates have been in the lower- to mid-three percent range for a while now.
Traders will be keeping an eye on names like D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI0, Lennar (NYSE: LEN), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), Ryland (NYSE: RYL), Toll Bros. (NYSE: TOL), PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM), and more on the news Thursday morning.
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- Housing Starts (Mar) 1.32M vs 1.49M Expected
- CSX Corp. (CSX) Shares Trade Lower Ahead of Results, Down 2.2%
- D.R. Horton (DHI) PT Lowered to $169 at BTIG
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Economic Data, Trader TalkRelated Entities
Housing StartsSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
