Homebuilder exchange traded funds have risen this week as investors have digested reports on new-home sales, house prices and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) earnings. On Friday, markets will get a report on pending home sales for April.
The National Association of Realtors is releasing its pending home sales report on Friday, another indicator of U.S. economic momentum.
Economists are expecting pending home sales to fall 1% in April, over March, for homes that are put under contract across the nation. Some analysts are calling a stop to the upside within the sector, after two months of increases in a row, February and March. [Homebuilder ETFs Slip On Weak Housing Starts.]
“Builders are coming out of hibernation,” a paper quoted Irvine-based housing consultant John Burns as saying. “Builders are an optimistic breed, but I can assure you that most of them are cautiously optimistic about 2011. The memories of the last five years haunt them.” [Housing ETFs Gain on Toll Brothers.]