Mortgage rates have been the crucial variable for home builders this year. Next year it may be jobs instead.
This
has, on balance, been a good year for home builders. But rising
interest rates in the summer put a dent in sales that spooked investors,
sending the S&P home-building index down 29% from its peak this
year in May to its September trough.
Business
bounced back in October, with new homes selling at an annual rate of
444,000, up from September's 354,000. Economists expect the November
figures, due Tuesday, will show the recovery remained intact, with an
annualized 450,000 homes sold. But investors remain warier than they
were in the spring: The home-building index is still 15% below its May
high. (more)
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