Major Home Builders - Stock Watch

We have been watching this year as stocks in the major home builders have dropped to record lows. There could be a number of reasons why. But is now a good time to buy stock in these companies or do some of these builders have more hurdles to face?

At RentLaw.com, we typically don't talk about the stock market, but with all the talk about credit, mortgages, sub-prime market and housing prices in general - we're going to jump in as well with our own observations from our offices in New Jersey.

More and more home builders are quietly planning on sales of their own or have already done so. Many are not national home builders such as Hovnanian who already had a "deal of the century" just a few weeks ago.  Along the New Jersey Shore, Long Branch caught the first rise in the market and now additional are on hold for now. Over in Asbury Park redevelopment - over 400 condos built or to be built are for sale along the ocean. Prices from $450,000 to over $2 million.  Click here for more.

The National Association of Realtors for the past 2 years glossed over numbers as their members made some nice commissions. Just recently, they stepped up and faced facts - housing inventory is at an all time high and prices are down in MOST areas of the country. They had to stop talking about "median home prices have increased" and now instead talk about DAYS on MARKET - how long a home is on the market before it is sold. 

Homes sit on the market longer in times of high inventory or where prices have jumped so dramatically that there are no buyers for that market at that price. Just because your neighbor got $250,000, then the other neighbor got $260,000 doesn't mean you will get $270,000. You might get that or less. In a hot market, you MIGHT got $300,000.  Depends on where the buyers are and what else is on the market at that point in time.

I have hundreds of questions for the analysts, bankers, appraisers and the rest of the bunch. 

I call it Reality in Realty. 

Following are the name and ticker of the major home builders. Again most of these are well below their 52 week highs.

Hovnanian

HOV

Toll Brothers

TOL

Centex

CTX

Lennar

LEN

D.R. Horton

DHI

NVR

NVR

Pulte Homes

PHM

Beazer Homes

BZH

Ryland

RYL

AMRep Corp

AXR

Dominion Homes

DOM

KB Homes

KBH

MDC Holdings

MDC

M/I Holdings

MHO

Meritage Homes Corporation

MTH

Standard Pacific Corp

SPF

The opinions of RentLaw.com, it's writers or publisher and the information contained therein do not constitute a recommendation by them that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. We will not advise you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy. To the extent any of the information contained on this website may be deemed to be investment advice, such information is impersonal and not tailored to the investment needs of any specific person. Past results are not indicative of future performance.

Thank you.