Betting on Housing Market Recovery

Low interest rates and the Fed's efforts to curtail unemployment all point to a likely housing recovery. Ben Bernanke disclosed in September that the Fed continues to purchase mortgage-backed securities that will put downward pressure on mortgage rates--thus increasing refinancing at lower rates and boosting overall demand for housing. Housing prices are also starting to build up, indicating an increase in demand. Hurricane Sandy is further boosting new-housing and repair demand on the East coast. Bloomberg reports that construction in the US is growing at the fastest rate in four years. With all these indicators pointing to an improving housing sector, needless to say, now may be the right time to bet on it. 

One housing market company destined to win in this recovery is Home Depot (NYSE: HD), the largest home-improvement retailer in the world. Home Depot reported its third quarter earnings the day before yesterday. The retailer reported Q3 EPS of $0.74, which beat analyst forecasts by $0.04, and revenue of $18.1B, which beat forecasts by $150M. The stock closed at $63.38 the same day, close to its 52 week high which is the highest the stock has reached in over a decade.

Home Depot's CEO, Frank Blake, yesterday reaffirmed that housing is now becoming “an asset rather than a negative.” According to Home Depot's CFO, Carol Tome, housing turnover this year is about 4.5 million units on an annualized basis which is impacting the company's comparables about 50 basis points this year.