The emerging consensus about the U.S. housing market is that it has yet to recover from the 2008-2009 downturn. Prior to that slump, homebuilders typically built around one million single-family homes annually. But according to Credit Suisse, that figure has averaged around 500,000 since then. It’s projected to rise to 635,000 this year. So what’s holding back demand for single-family homes? Phil Blancato, executive vice-president at Ladenburg Thalmann, points to demographics. “Young buyers are still paying off student loans and older homeowners are downsizing to condos,” he says. Investors are fleeing and many homebuilding stocks are now closer to 52-week lows than 52-week highs.
Read the entire article here: Homebuilder ETFs Back In The Bargain Bin