Thank you, Santa! The holiday rally has pushed most of the major stock market indices to record highs. But valuation-conscious investors are getting nervous. Now's the time to consider alternative investments. The housing market is booming amid a chronic shortage of homes for sale, a dynamic that's fueling the phenomenon of house "flipping." The U.S. Census Bureau reported on December 16 that U.S. homebuilding surged to an eight-month high in November, as the supply of homes for sale lagged demand. Housing starts increased 11.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.679 million units last month, the highest level since March. The consensus had forecast starts rising to a rate of 1.568 million units. Permits for future homebuilding rose 3.6% to a rate of 1.712 million units in November (see chart). To be sure, home sales fell in November on a monthly basis, but that's in large part due to soaring home prices and the housing shortage. The National Association of Realtors reported on December 29 that its Pending Home Sales Index, which tracks the number of homes that are under contract to be sold, dropped 2.2% in November from October. Continue reading... HERE
|
没有评论:
发表评论