As winter's icy grip becomes a fading memory, is the housing sector ready to warm up? The homebuilder ETF (NYSE: XHB) may be giving a clue to that question.
Given that housing starts for April were up over 13 percent month-over-month, and new permits hit their highest level in nearly six years, the housing market may be starting to warm up as all four regions of the country reported increases.
Builders, meanwhile, have complained they are now dealing with higher material costs as well as labor shortages for skilled workers.
Looking at the chart below of the ETF for homebuilders and related companies, the downtrend starting ...
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