Home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. credits cleanup efforts after Superstorm Sandy and its new pricing strategy for fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street expectations, a sign that people are beginning to feel better about spending money on their homes as the housing market slowly recovers.
U.S. sales of previously occupied homes rose in January to the second-highest level in three years, a sign the housing market is maintaining its recovery and helping to bolster the economy. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales rose 0.4 percent in January compared with December.
U.S. single-family home prices rose in November, building on a string of gains that point to a housing market that is on the mend, data from the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Index showed on Tuesday. Prices in the 20 cities rose 5.5 percent year over year.
The housing market is back, but how strong will it be this year? New home sales were weaker than expected in December, down nearly eight percent from a year earlier. But the housing recovery for all of 2012 was surprisingly strong after the collapse that started four years earlier.
This week will bring answers to questions that have hung over the market for months: Will slower growth in China put a dent in U.S. companies' income? Will new housing numbers come in strong enough to keep homebuilders flying high? How much did Superstorm Sandy cost insurers? Here's what to watch.
U.S. builders started work on homes in December at the fastest pace since the summer of 2008 and finished 2012 as their best year for residential construction since the early stages of the housing crisis.
A measure of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes increased last month to its highest level in two and a half years, the latest sign of improvement in the once-battered housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 1.7 percent in November from October to 106.4.
US home prices rose in most major cities in October compared with a year ago, pushed up by rising sales and a decline in the supply of available homes. Higher prices show the housing market is improving even as it moves into the more dormant fall and winter sales period.
U.S. home prices rose 6.3 percent in October compared with a year ago, the largest yearly gain since July 2006. The jump adds to signs of a comeback in the housing market. But month-over-month, prices fell 0.2 percent in October from September, reflecting the end of the summer home-buying season.
Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller reported Tuesday that its 20-city index of home prices rose 3 percent in September compared with the same month last year. Prices also gained 3.6 percent in the July-September quarter compared with the same quarter in 2011.
After five rough years, we could be on the cusp of a new economic boom. Not like the mid-1980s or late 1990s, mind you. But the odds that the next five years will be markedly better than the last five years are good, and growing better by the day.
U.S. sales of new homes jumped last month to the highest level in more than two years, further evidence of a sustained housing recovery that could help lift the lackluster economy. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales rose 5.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000.
U.S. sales of previously occupied homes fell in September after hitting a two-year high in August, in part because there were fewer homes available for sale.
U.S. builders started construction on homes in September at the fastest rate since July 2008, a further indication that the housing recovery is strengthening and could help the economy grow.
Confidence among U.S. homebuilders remains at its highest level in six years, reflecting improved optimism over the strengthening housing market this year and a pickup in visits by prospective buyers to builders' communities.