We don't often comment on the idiocy of the self-reported and almost entirely reinforcing homebuilder survey but today's print had some under the surface ridiculousness that we felt needed sharing. The NorthEast saw the biggest jump since January after flat-lining for six months. We can only assume that the dismal reality of what Sandy left behind has encouraged all those displaced New Jerseyites to rush out to buy another home. Other regions were either lower or a small positive. Residential Contruction jobs continue to drop, entirely ignoring the NAHB's hope.
It seems the 'prospective sales traffic' that the homebuilders are seeing just isnt becoming actual home sales...
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Regions and the remarkable NorthEast recovery...
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but nothing says housing recovery like an ongoing slump in construction jobs...
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Charts:Bloomberg