Stocks fell Friday, capping a mostly down week, as investors remained jittery about the economy and the outlook for the technology sector.
The housing market is still struggling, but D.R. Horton stock is surging.
When Richard Dugas, the president and CEO of Pulte Homes Inc. recently talked about his company's $3.1 billion purchase of rival Centex Corp., he added fuel to the fire for a possible wave of consolidation in the battered homebuilding sector.
Signs of stabilization in the housing market during the past few weeks helped lay the foundation for a nice pop in homebuilder stocks. Now, a big merger in the sector could be setting the framework for a continued rally in the group.
Has the housing market finally hit bottom? It's probably too soon to say -- but Wall Street sure seems to think so.
Stocks rallied Tuesday, erasing morning losses, as investors focused on the day's positive earnings reports and a surprise rise in a key measure of home sales.
Construction of homes and apartments fell in July to the lowest level in more than 17 years, the government reported Tuesday
Homebuilders' confidence in the housing market remained at record low levels, a trade group said Monday.
Homebuilders' confidence in the weak housing market fell in June, matching the record low in a monthly industry assessment index, a trade group said Monday.
The banking and housing markets are still in a world of pain. That should not come as a surprise to anyone.
Stocks fell Friday, capping a mostly down week, as investors remained jittery about the economy and the outlook for the technology sector.
The housing market is still struggling, but D.R. Horton stock is surging.
When Richard Dugas, the president and CEO of Pulte Homes Inc. recently talked about his company's $3.1 billion purchase of rival Centex Corp., he added fuel to the fire for a possible wave of consolidation in the battered homebuilding sector.
Signs of stabilization in the housing market during the past few weeks helped lay the foundation for a nice pop in homebuilder stocks. Now, a big merger in the sector could be setting the framework for a continued rally in the group.
Has the housing market finally hit bottom? It's probably too soon to say -- but Wall Street sure seems to think so.
Stocks rallied Tuesday, erasing morning losses, as investors focused on the day's positive earnings reports and a surprise rise in a key measure of home sales.
Construction of homes and apartments fell in July to the lowest level in more than 17 years, the government reported Tuesday
Homebuilders' confidence in the housing market remained at record low levels, a trade group said Monday.
Homebuilders' confidence in the weak housing market fell in June, matching the record low in a monthly industry assessment index, a trade group said Monday.
The banking and housing markets are still in a world of pain. That should not come as a surprise to anyone.
Honestly, Wall Street sometimes seems like Bizarro World in the old Superman comics.
Home builder Lennar reported its fourth straight quarterly loss Thursday and warned that conditions in the battered housing market continue to worsen due to a glut of homes on the market and ongoing problems in the mortgage market.
Initial construction of U.S. homes was higher than expected last month, although down from the prior month as single-family housing starts reached a 17-year low.
The number of homes under contract for sale was unchanged in January, leaving that measure of the battered real estate market just barely above the record low, according to the latest reading from the National Association of Realtors.
New construction of single-family homes fell to a 17-year low in January, according to a government report on the battered housing market released Wednesday.
U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday as weak retail sales and a dismal outlook from Cisco Systems weighed on investors.
The housing and mortgage meltdown caused the biggest one-year drop in the rate of homeownership on record, according to government figures released Tuesday.
New home sales posted the biggest drop on record in 2007, according to the government's latest look at the battered housing market, as a year that saw a meltdown in the mortgage market and a drop in home values ended with yet more signs of weakness.
Home builders' confidence showed a very slight improvement in January, helped by a narrow gain in their hopes for the market early this summer, according to the latest survey.
Contracts to sell existing homes fell in November and there could be darker days ahead for home values, which are expected to post their biggest decline on record this quarter as a full-year rebound in prices now isn't expected until 2009, according to an industry trade group.
Stocks continued to decline Monday, halfway through the last trading day of the year, as investors dress their portfolios for the year's end.
Stocks floundered Monday morning, on the last trading day of the year, after a report on sales of existing homes showed little improvement in the beleaguered housing market.
Sales of new homes plunged last month to their lowest level in more than 12 years, a grim testament to the problems plaguing the housing sector.
More trouble looms for the nation's battered housing market next year, even as the pace of home sales inched up in October from the depths of this summer's mortgage meltdown, according to data released Monday by an industry trade group.
The biggest plunge in new home prices in 37 years was not enough to revive October sales, according to the government's latest reading on the battered housing and home building markets.
Sales of existing homes fell to a record low in October, as even the largest drop in home prices ever wasn't enough to revive moribund sales, according to the latest reading on the battered housing market by an industry trade group released Wednesday.
Stocks were mostly higher at the start of trading Tuesday, but Freddie Mac's bigger-than-expected loss and huge writedown sent its shares down by one-third.
D.R. Horton, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, reported a much smaller- than-expected loss in the most recent period, a rare glimmer of relatively good news from a battered sector.
Home builders' confidence stayed at record low levels in a November reading released Monday, as a slight uptick in buyer traffic was balanced out by a slightly more pessimistic view six months down the road.
Major gauges were poised to finish lower for the second straight day Tuesday as oil prices soared above $88 a barrel and more housing market woes kept stocks under pressure.
Stocks moved off their lows but remained in the red as sky-high oil prices, credit market concerns and troubling comments about the housing sector by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke worried investors.
Higher oil prices and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke weighed on stocks Tuesday, with major gauges extending their previous session losses.
U.S. stocks pulled back early Tuesday as investors fretted about record oil prices and some comments about the economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
The mortgage bomb hit the demand for new homes even harder than expected in August, leaving the nation's builders with their weakest level of sales since the summer of 2000, when the nation was struggling with a stock market collapse, rising interest rates and a looming recession.
In a further sign of trouble for the battered housing and homebuilding markets, Lennar posted a much bigger-than-expected loss Tuesday for its fiscal third quarter, saying it has already slashed staff and plans further cuts.
Housing stocks posted sharp losses Monday ahead of sector data and two major earnings reports scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday.
Housing starts and permits for new homes fell to their lowest level in 12 years in August, as the problems in the mortgage and real estate markets caused builders to slam the brakes on new construction.
Builders say the current housing market is the weakest it's been in 16 years, but as bad as that is, their view of where the market will be in six months is even worse.
Homeowners trying to sell last month faced the biggest glut of homes on the market in about 16 years, as declining sales and growing problems in the mortgage market helped push home prices down for the 12th straight month.
New home sales posted an unexpected gain in July, according to a government report Friday - a rare ray of good news in the stormy housing market. But economists warn the glint of sunshine is likely to be short-lived.
Housing starts and permits both fell to their lowest levels in more than a decade, as the latest readings on the battered housing and homebuilding markets came in below expectations Thursday.
Builders' confidence in the new home market fell to a 16-year low, according to a trade group survey conducted this month which reports buyers' problems finding financing spreading beyond the subprime sector.
D.R. Horton Inc., the No. 2 homebuilder by revenues, reported its first quarterly loss as a public company Thursday after taking more than a billion dollars of charges, chiefly related to the lower value of land and other assets.
Bonds rose sharply Thursday as U.S. stocks tumbled, marking its second worst day of the year, on credit woes and weak economic reports.
The battered real estate and home building markets took another body blow Thursday as a government reading showed a bigger than expected drop in new home sales, and the nation's top builders posted large losses due to the weak market and took charges for the declining value of their holdings.
U.S. stocks weakened at Thursday's open on concerns about oil and housing.
The outlook for the housing sector has grown bleaker after a key measure of builder confidence fell to its lowest level in 10 years, according to a government report released Wednesday.
The slump in home sales and prices will be deeper and last longer than previously expected, according to the latest forecast Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.
Troubling earnings forecasts from the retail sector, renewed concerns about the subprime mortgage sector and rising oil prices sent stocks tumbling Tuesday.
Stocks tumbled Tuesday on concerns about corporate earnings and the subprime mortgage sector while remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke failed to sooth already jittery investors.
Some troubling earnings news and renewed fears about the subprime mortgage sector sent stocks lower Tuesday afternoon, while investors weighed a speech on inflation by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
The Dow industrials tumbled about 100 points Tuesday afternoon as investors weighed a speech on inflation by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke while a handful of profit warnings added to general nervousness in an already jittery market.
Home builder D.R. Horton said Tuesday declining home values would lead to its first quarterly loss since it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1995, sending its shares to a three-year low.
Stocks took a break Tuesday from their recent runup following some troubling earnings announcements from Sears and D.R. Horton, as Wall Street awaited remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Troubling earnings forecasts from Sears and D.R. Horton, the nation's largest homebuilder, left stocks lower Tuesday as Wall Street awaited a speech on inflation by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
U.S. stocks pulled back at the start of trading Tuesday as investors were wary of some earnings warnings and a weak dollar.
In another sign of trouble for the battered housing and home building market, No. 1 home builder Lennar reported an unexpected loss in its second quarter and warned of more losses and possibly tougher times ahead.
New home sales posted a surprising drop at the start of the crucial spring selling season in May - the latest sign that the battered housing market could have a ways to go before hitting bottom.
Home builder confidence fell for the third straight month in May and executives in the battered sector now believe they'll have to wait until next year for even a sluggish recovery to begin, according to an industry survey released Tuesday.
Remember how, a few months ago, CNNMoney (and our competitors, thank you) - not to mention just about all of Wall Street - thought that first-quarter earnings were going to be scary?
Stocks opened lower Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones industrials hit a record, as a mixed bag of earnings reports and declines in overseas markets rattled investors.
In a sign of continuing problems in the housing market, builder Pulte Homes announced Wednesday that it was dramatically lowering its first-quarter results forecast.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday it expects its measure of home prices to fall this year for the first time since the group began keeping track nearly 40 years ago.
Stocks inched higher Tuesday morning, with the Nasdaq leading the way, but gains were limited ahead of the start of the quarterly earnings reporting period.
In the latest sign of trouble for the battered real estate market, one of the nation's top home builders warned Tuesday that it has yet to see the normal start of the spring home buying season, as it reported sharply lower sales for the first three months of the year.
Homebuilder stocks had a glorious run until the housing market peaked in the summer of 2005. Since then it's been nothing but pain from every direction.
Sales of existing homes posted the biggest jump in nearly three years in February, though sellers got the gains the way Detroit automakers spur sales - by cutting prices.
Housing starts rebounded from a nine-year low in February, according to the latest government reading on the battered home-building industry, but ongoing weakness led builders to pull back on plans for more housing.
Home builders' confidence took a hit in March, according to a members' survey by their trade group conducted amid growing reports of problems in the subprime mortgage market.
Mortgage rates remained largely unchanged last week despite news of a shakeout in the subprime industry.
Wall Streeters spent last week recovering from the previous week's battering. They'll spend the week ahead testing that recovery.
Here are some of the companies whose shares were active in Thursday trade:
Housing prices continued to fall in some housing markets around the nation, according to a government agency report covering price changes during the fourth quarter of 2006, but overall showed modest growth.
New home sales saw their steepest plunge in 13 years in January, a government report said Wednesday, as a rising glut of new houses on the market pushed prices lower.
Housing prices continued to fall in the latest reading on the battered real estate market released Tuesday from an industry trade group.
December's leading indicators that showed steady growth in the coming months kept mortgage rates steady, according to a survey.
Job growth showed surprising strength in November, according to a government report that also showed the unemployment rate edging higher from a five-year low.
Stocks inched higher after a shaky start Tuesday morning as investors took in mixed reads on the economy, including stronger-than-expected growth in the service sector and a big drop in factory orders.
The stocks of eight major homebuilders around the country got a boost Thursday as Banc of America analysts upgraded the sector and raised their price targets on many of the companies.
The pace of existing home sales continue to slip in the latest reading of real estate market strength from an industry trade group.
The economy appears thriving away from home, or more precisely, away from homes.
New home prices took their biggest hit in more than 35 years in September, the government said Thursday, the latest sign that builders are struggling to unload a glut of unsold homes as the nation's real estate market cools.
The government's latest reading of a cooling real estate market came in weaker than Wall Street expectations Thursday, with the sale of new homes down and the supply of new homes on the market continuing to climb to record levels.
Murky. That's probably the best way to describe the outlook for the stock market these days. The May-June selloff sliced 5% from Standard & Poor's 500, and that was a portfolio paper cut compared w...
The sudden shift in the nation's housing markets is exploding some long-held beliefs. The first is that a scarcity of buildable land on the coasts keeps a cap on supply and prevents prices from falling.
D.R. Horton ranks no. 162 on this year's list of the FORTUNE 500, with $13,863.7 million in revenues, up 27.9% from the previous year. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company was ranked no. 203 on the 2005 list. Its 2005 profits were $1,470.5 million, up 50.8% from a year earlier.
DANGER! DANGER! THE TABLES YOU JUST perused may be harmful to your portfolio.
Nobody has been a bigger booster of homebuilder stocks than CGM Realty fund's Ken Heebner. He began buying them in 2001, and ever since he's talked up their managements, touted how much business th...
The jobs market looks like it's turning around, people are shopping more freely, inflation is rising, and interest rates could soon follow suit.
When you think about sexy investments, chances are homebuilding stocks don't jump to mind. At a time when companies are revolutionizing the way we interact through technology and developing miracle...
Investors who found shelter in the homebuilding sector during the market's downturn finally appear to be running for the exits. After nearly tripling in the last three years, shares of builders suc...
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