U.S. new home sales unexpectedly fall in Feb

Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes fell for a fourth straight month to a record low in February, a government report showed on Wednesday, heightening fears of renewed weakness in the housing market.

Someone is not getting the memo on how to spin a headline.

"U.S. new home sales unexpectedly deviated from expectations."

While one headlines speaks of weakness, another on the same feed proclaims the same data as unexpected strength. All these headlines are nothing more than information overload. The best way to hide important information, such as trends and fundamentals, is to bury them within a sea of headline noise and data revisions.

Let's cut through the crap, a technical term for noise, to reveal the trends. Housing is struggling again.

New home sales are not only contracting but also they are pushing the power up trend since 2009. If housing is a key to the US recovery, the US recovery is beginning to struggle.

New Home Sales And Change YOY, SA:


The weakness is supported by housing starts and building permits.

Housing Starts And Change YOY, SA:
Chart: HS

Probably the most troubling is the months supply trend. Month supply is ratio of houses for sale to houses sold. As long as this series is rising, home prices will be facing headwinds.

Chart MS

Turn off the noise. Follow the trends.

Source: stocks-climb-after-home-sales-top.
Source: finance.yahoo.com