Stronger economy boosts U.S. home builders

Article Excerpt

The U.S. housing market has staged a strong recovery since the dark days of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis. Stronger employment and more-confident consumers continue to lift home prices. But it’s possible that higher interest rates will slow future growth for home builders and other real estate firms. After a decade of extraordinarily low interest rates, the U.S. Federal Reserve is finally ratcheting them up. As a result, mortgage rates have also risen: 30-year rates are up from a low of 3.5% in 2012 to 4.6% in February 2018. Those gain will take additional money from the pockets of borrowers and make homes less affordable to prospective homebuyers. However, we note that 30-year mortgage rates are still well below the 6.5% average for the decade just prior to the 2008/2009 financial crisis. Nevertheless, during that period, the housing market was booming. Today, most drivers of housing demand point upward: Employment in the U.S. remains solid, with an 18.2 million (14%) jump in jobs…