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Profit Confidential (www.ProfitConfidential.com), an e-letter published by Lombardi Publishing Corporation, a 28-year-old consumer publisher that has served over one million customers in 141 countries, is warning that recent U.S. economic data show that the housing market’s losing momentum and that the broader economy could stall.The S&P Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index, a measure of the housing market in key American cities, declined in May by 0.31% from April, marking the first monthly decline in home prices in 27 months. (Source: “S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices,” www.spindices.com/index-family/real-estate/sp-case-shiller, last accessed August 8, 2014.)
The number of homes being built in the U.S. is also falling. In June, the annual rate of new homes being built in the U.S. housing market declined 9.3% from May to the lowest level in eight months. (Source: “New Residential Construction in June 2014,” United States Census Bureau web site, July 17, 2014; www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst.pdf.)
“Pending home sales, a leading indicator of the U.S. housing market, are also declining,” says economist and lead contributor Michael Lombardi. “In June, pending home sales slipped 1.1% month-over-month and currently sit 7.3% lower than where they were in June 2013.” (Source: “Pending Home Sales Slip in June,” National Association of Realtors web site, July 28, 2014; www.realtor.org/news-releases/2014/07/pending-home-sales-slip-in-june.)
Lombardi observes that, not surprisingly, companies that generate revenue from the housing market are struggling. The U.S. Housing Index, which tracks the stock prices of companies involved in construction, mortgages, and home-building materials, is down 9.5% since the beginning of July and 6.6% since the start of the year. It is also trading well below its 200-day moving average and its 50-day moving average.
“While I don’t expect to see an outright collapse in home prices like we saw in 2007, the momentum we experienced in 2012 and 2013 is dissipating,” Lombardi concludes. “This observation is consistent with my view that the U.S. economy is stalling. Even the stock market, a leading indicator, is warning of trouble ahead.”
For more information on Profit Confidential, visit www.ProfitConfidential.com.
Founded in 1986, Lombardi Publishing Corporation, which has served over one million customers in 141 countries, is one of the largest consumer information publishers in the world. For more information on Lombardi Publishing Corporation, visit www.LombardiPublishing.com.
Contact Info:
Name: Wendy Potter
Email: Send Email
Organization: Lombardi Publishing Corporation
Address: 350 5th Avenue, 59th Floor, New York, NY 10118
Phone: 905 856 2022
Website: http://www.profitconfidential.com/
Release ID: 58763
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