New home sales reportedly spiked in October. Huh?
Builder stocks spiked right after the Census Bureau release Wednesday morning, and we are sure that many believe we are in a strong housing market again because of the headlines. On Fox Business, I explained what is actually going on. We discussed:
- The data quirk behind the simultaneous release of plunging September sales followed by a return to a more normal trend in October
- 444,000 sales being just more than half of normal new home sales
- The missing entry-level buyer
- My anticipation for low homeownership due to the tremendous disincentives to lend to the credit-challenged borrower
