Housing stocks on the HW 30 index fluctuated throughout the day as the market reacted to a series of mixed housing reports.
Early in the day, Trulia suggested the U.S. housing market is 67% back to normal, while Lender Processing Services reported a 10% year-over-year drop in mortgage delinquencies. Still, the HW index as a whole dipped a very slight 0.03% as a whole.
The negative news of the day came from real estate site Zillow (Z), which noted that despite falling mortgage rates in the wake of more quantitative easing, three out of 10 Americans are still unlikely to qualify for a mortgage.
In the wake of those reports, the HW 30 edged down, while the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and the S&P 500 went the other direction, rising 0.36%, 0.70% and 0.35%, respectively.
In the mortgage real estate investment trust sector, a few stocks had a rough day.
mREIT American Capital (AGNC) dropped a substantial 4.74% for the day after announcing that in the third quarter of 2013, the company made open market purchases of approximately 13.4 million shares of American Capital common stock, or 4.6% of the company's outstanding shares as of June 30, 2013. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.11 per share, totaling approximately $175.5 million, the company said.
Annaly Capital Management (NLY), another mREIT on the index, also saw a much smaller decline on Thursday, falling 0.41% for the day.
The final two mREIT-stocks on the index, Redwood Trust (RWT) and Two Harbors Investment (TWO), saw improvement on Thursday. Redwood Trust ended the day up 0.50%, while Two Harbors increased 0.93%.
The big banks were a mixed bag on the index Thursday. Bank of America (BAC) took a 0.42% dip, while JPMorgan Chase (JPM) rose 0.37% by market close. Wells Fargo (WFC), on the other hand, fell 0.48% on Thursday.
Finally, after a successful week, homebuilders began to see some fluctuation on the index. D.R. Horton (DHI) fell 0.84%, while Lennar (LEN) kept its momentum, improving 0.27% for the day. Homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) inched up slightly on Thursday, increasing 0.09% for the day.
Other housing-related stocks on the market also saw strong fluctuation, suggesting that as Trulia (TRLA) Chief Economist Jed Kolko said Thursday morning, “The recovery is not a straight line: it moves through different phases.”
