If you Squint you can see the light at the end of the tunnel

Good news folks! Monthly housing prices fell for less than a record amount for the first time since October 2007. Talk about your second derivative celebration! I concede it is better than a sharp stick in the eye but the chart below isn't exactly cause for exuberance. News like this makes short sellers slightly less aggressive but hardly reverse investment positions.




Maybe if a few thousand more homes are bulldozed prices will stablize and head north once again.

John Barnyak
President
www.stonehouseasset.com

Magoo, you've done it again.

I am honestly not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Several days ago I mentioned the rather disingenuous reporting of housing figures in the news. They've done it again. On one hand it is nice to hear good news. Maybe we need it more than accurate news. Maybe it is better to feel good than to think straight.

WSJ: Sales of new homes rose in February for the first time in seven months, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, another sign that the housing market is thawing

Bloomberg: Purchases of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in February from a record low as plummeting prices and cheaper mortgage rates lured some buyers. Sales increased 4.7 percent to an annual pace of 337,000 . . .

Marketwatch: The U.S. housing sector continues to see signs of improvement. The latest government data showed new home sales climbed in February for the first time in seven months, sending shares of home-building companies soaring.

>

Not only did the New Home Sales data NOT improve, but it was terrible. Not only was the 4.7% gain statistically insignificant as the Census Bureau report gives it a +/- 18.3% margin of error. Year over year change?, down 41%. Sales down nearly by half, woohoo!





I'm not saying you can go up before you stop going down. But this is just noise!

John Barnyak
President
www.stonehouseasset.com