The US economy has been showing signs of life recently but one of the areas that has unimpressed analysts and those who know about spread betting through 2011 is the housing market. But that might be changing now.
According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes increased by 5% to an annual rate of 4.61 million in December from the 4.39 million seen in November. USD forex traders would have noted that it was the third consecutive monthly gain.
The National Association of Home Builders sentiment index leapt to 25 in January from 21 in December which was way ahead of expectations. This was the fourth straight rise seen in as many months.
Meanwhile, applications for new mortgages in the US jumped by 23.1% in the week ending January 13 according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
According to the Commerce Department, housing starts dropped 4.1% to a 657,000 annual rate in December. Building permits, which are more forward looking, December fell just 0.1% in December to an annual rate of 679,000 from 680,000 in November.
According to a recent Reuters poll house prices in the US will stop their five and a half year decline in 2012 and prices are likely to grow slightly in 2013.
However, with the average price of a US home at the same level it was nine years ago there is going to be a long wait for that feel-good factor to return.