Lowes and Existing Home Sales Take The Plunge
Summary: Lowes Home Improvement reports 33% decline in Q4 profit.
Existing home sales plunge for a 5th straight month, at lowest level since record keeping began in 1999.
Lowe's, #2 home improvement chain, reported a 33% decline in Q4 profit...
on a same store sales decline of 7.6%, and issued a full year earnings forecast less than analysts' projection. CEO Robert Niblock:
"we faced an unprecedented decline in housing turnover, falling home prices in many areas and turbulent mortgage markets...
that impacted both sentiment related to home-improvement purchases as well as consumers' access to capital."
Existing Home Sales Jan -0.4% at 4.89M Full Report
Inside the number: YOY -23.4%; inventory +6.2% at 10.3 months; YOY +53.7%.
SFR +0.5% at 4.340M YOY -22.4%; inventory +7.4% at 10.1 months; YOY +55.4%;
YOY Price -5.1% at 198.7K; West YOY price -7.2%; Sales YOY -28%.
Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland:
"The Federal Reserve's efforts to restore the mortgage market so credit is available so people can buy houses has largely failed.
There really isn't a lot of hope that things are going to turn around soon."
Ara Hovnanian, CEO of Hovnanian Enterprises: "We're seeing prices now that are basically back to '02, '03 levels."
Existing home sales plunge for a 5th straight month, at lowest level since record keeping began in 1999.
Lowe's, #2 home improvement chain, reported a 33% decline in Q4 profit...
on a same store sales decline of 7.6%, and issued a full year earnings forecast less than analysts' projection. CEO Robert Niblock:
"we faced an unprecedented decline in housing turnover, falling home prices in many areas and turbulent mortgage markets...
that impacted both sentiment related to home-improvement purchases as well as consumers' access to capital."
Existing Home Sales Jan -0.4% at 4.89M Full Report
Inside the number: YOY -23.4%; inventory +6.2% at 10.3 months; YOY +53.7%.
SFR +0.5% at 4.340M YOY -22.4%; inventory +7.4% at 10.1 months; YOY +55.4%;
YOY Price -5.1% at 198.7K; West YOY price -7.2%; Sales YOY -28%.
Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland:
"The Federal Reserve's efforts to restore the mortgage market so credit is available so people can buy houses has largely failed.
There really isn't a lot of hope that things are going to turn around soon."
Ara Hovnanian, CEO of Hovnanian Enterprises: "We're seeing prices now that are basically back to '02, '03 levels."
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