Homebuilders' stocks fell sharply Wednesday after the Census Bureau
said new-home sales slipped 0.3% in August to 373,000 units on an annual
rate, below analysts' forecast of 380,000 units.
Analysts said a jump in home prices appears to be keeping new home sales down.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's purchase index, another closely watched gauge of the housing market, rose 1% for the week ending Sept. 21. Refinancing rose 3%, while home purchase applications edged up 1%.
Refinancing made up 81.2% of all mortgage applications, the highest percentage since early August.
Standard Pacific (SPF), the top-rated homebuilder, was down 6.9% at 6.66 in Wednesday morning trading. Ryland Group (RYL) and Pulte Group (PHM) were down about 6%, D.R. Horton (DHI) nearly 5%.
The homebuilders group, ranked No. 5 on the list of 197 industry groups tracked by IBD, closed lower Tuesday after a pair of home-pricing reports from S&P Case-Shiller and the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed that housing prices continued to slowly rise in July.
Homebuilding supplies companies had muted reaction to Wednesday's reports.
Flooring store chain Lumber Liquidators (LL), the top-rated company in the Retail/Wholesale Building Products group, slipped 1%.
Read more: http://news.investors.com/business/092612-627078-homebuilders-crushed-by-lower-than-expected-sales.htm?src=HPLNews
Analysts said a jump in home prices appears to be keeping new home sales down.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's purchase index, another closely watched gauge of the housing market, rose 1% for the week ending Sept. 21. Refinancing rose 3%, while home purchase applications edged up 1%.
Refinancing made up 81.2% of all mortgage applications, the highest percentage since early August.
Standard Pacific (SPF), the top-rated homebuilder, was down 6.9% at 6.66 in Wednesday morning trading. Ryland Group (RYL) and Pulte Group (PHM) were down about 6%, D.R. Horton (DHI) nearly 5%.
The homebuilders group, ranked No. 5 on the list of 197 industry groups tracked by IBD, closed lower Tuesday after a pair of home-pricing reports from S&P Case-Shiller and the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed that housing prices continued to slowly rise in July.
Homebuilding supplies companies had muted reaction to Wednesday's reports.
Flooring store chain Lumber Liquidators (LL), the top-rated company in the Retail/Wholesale Building Products group, slipped 1%.
Read more: http://news.investors.com/business/092612-627078-homebuilders-crushed-by-lower-than-expected-sales.htm?src=HPLNews
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