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January 17, 2013 8:51 AM EST Tweet
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Homebuilders are largely in positive territory Thursday following new housing data released earlier by the U.S. Census Bureau.
New housing starts were 954,000 for December 2012, a 12.1 percent increase over a revised 851,000 number for November and 36.9 percent over the December 2011 result. The Street consensus was looking for a more modest reading of 889,000 starts.
Building permits rose to 903,000 in the month, up 28.8 percent over the prior year and compared with the consensus of 900,000 permits.
The Southern U.S. led the way, with 450,000 starts for the month. The West saw 210,000, the Northeast at 94,000, and Midwest at 149,000 starts. The West was the biggest percentage gainer at 35.5 percent, while the Midwest saw a 33 percent increase.
Lower mortgage rates as well as the impending fiscal cliff may have prompted many to take action before the start of the new year. Though there was a slight uptick in January, rates have been in the lower- to mid-three percent range for a while now.
Traders will be keeping an eye on names like D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI0, Lennar (NYSE: LEN), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), Ryland (NYSE: RYL), Toll Bros. (NYSE: TOL), PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM), and more on the news Thursday morning.
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