I know it is fashionable to be bearish on housing, but are things about to pivot and turn? Put these two items together:
1) The Housing Affordability Index reached 141.1 in the most recent release. This was the highest in at least six years. As one blogger noted, this will move even higher next month due to a drop in fixed mortgage rates to the current 5.75%.
2) The U.S. Treasury is considering a plan to drive mortgage rates down to as low as 4.5%. They would accomplish this by purchasing mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Would low housing prices and a generational low in mortgage rates prove too tempting to home buyers and cause a mini boom in housing and begin to clear inventory?
Disclosure – I am long the XHB and ITB.
