Is housing still U. S. economy’s energizer?

In terms of earnings, which became the language of the market since mid-October, investors in housing-related companies are positive. Shares of retail giants Home Depot (HD) and Lowe’s (LOW) are up 36% and 42% this year respectively and are trading at all time highs. The SPDR S&P Home builders (XHB) exchange-traded fund has surged 35% in 2021.

The U. S. housing market challenges so many concerns that prices may be close to peaking as mortgage rates climb and is shows no significant signs of slowing.

Housing starts in September were up from a year ago, while existing home sales topped market forecasts and rose from August levels.

Even as some sectors of the economy await recovery yields, the housing sector’s boom keeps going forward. That is good for builders, but it could also be great news for the broader economy and stock market, particularly since the strength of this sector appears to be on the national scale.

The New York Fed noted that “housing markets have been steady to slightly stronger, on balance, in recent weeks” and that “sales activity picked up noticeably across New York City, far exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

In Atlanta, the Fed said “demand for housing was solid, inventories declined, and home prices rose” while the Chicago, Fed said “residential mortgage activity continued to be strong” and that there were “all time low delinquency rates” in the housing market.