What do you make of all the media buzz lately about the U.S. housing comeback? Reuters reports that July new-home sales were the highest they’ve been in 10 months, while Reuters UK tempered that enthusiasm with the point that new housing starts for single-family homes fell in July.

On Seeking Alpha Tim Ianoco admits it’s getting harder to be a housing bear, while Ryan Avent contends that current housing values are finally starting to reflect “reality” – or at least, homebuyers seem less delusional about how quickly a home purchase can be translated into a ready-cash machine. If that could happen, it’d definitely be a positive sign against future bubbles.

What’s your take on this trend – are you a believer or a skeptic, or still holding out for more data?

[image: What subprime crisis? Affordable houses are everywhere. by woodleywonderworks on Flickr]

----------------------------------------------------
Learn new trading strategies from the Options Guy, or hone your skills at TradeKing All-Stars. You can also follow us on Twitter.

TradeKing provides self-directed investors with discount brokerage services, and does not make recommendations or offer investment, financial, legal or tax advice.

(c) TradeKing, Member FINRA, ISE and SIPC. http://www.tradeking.com

I'm a believer! But I'm also an eternal optimist! Of COURSE the housing market will come back. It always has. Seems to run in roughly 10 year cycles. I've been through a few. It's coming back nicely where I am right now!

You have to wonder, with HOV's extreme underperformance over analyst expectations tonight, whether it's a sign that analysts estimates may be short sighted on the real estate horizon.

Good points, folks. I'm also a long-term believer on housing's value, just not necessarily as a wild speculative vehicle. I'd call what we're seeing now a re-calibration. Prices are coming down to earth, and at the same time people are re-assessing their homes as the investment it really is: as a housing cost in the short-term and a smaller sliver of their long-term portfolio of assets.

One thing I'd say: I'm suspicious of any vision of economic comeback that's predicated on sky-high housing prices, or over-extended consumer spending, again. Hopefully those devils are gone from our economy for good! Also, let's remember that in the past, real estate "bottoms" in the U.S. have typically played out like this: prices eventually stabilize, and then they stay pretty stagnant for a period of years before rising again.

I am a believer.  I work in Building Supplies here in Missouri, and while we may not have got hit as hard as other parts of the nation, we did get slammed pretty good.  At the beginning of the year, I was wondering if I would have a job by the end of the week.  About early July, something changed.  While our numbers still haven't returned to levels of 2 years ago, even 1 year ago, they have started to slowly come back.  The amount of product coming into the warehouse where I work began to increase, and increase over a few weeks.  I just wrote it off as restocking, because our shelves at the end of last year, beginning of this year, left alot to be desired.  Our shelves were filling back up, but as quick as we was getting product into the shelves, it was going back out the door to Yards (Lumber Yards) and our other warehouses in Kansas, Illinois, and Iowa.  At the beginning of the year, we was lucky to send a truck that weighed 20 thousand pounds to any of our warehouses, now days, we are lucky if we are able to keep the truck, everyday, UNDER 50 thousand pounds.  Anything you need to build a house, we sell and deal with.  Vinyl Siding, Roofing, Windows, Doors, Nails, Guns and Tools, Decking, you name it.  I know I feel like the past few months, feel a lot like then end of 2006 for me.  Very busy, lots of product coming and going.  We will see.  I know I am feeling 110% better about our chances moving forward.  Good blog Big Dog. 

Great insights, MrReed. I recall reading somewhere that a lot of homeowners who had planned to "trade up" on their houses pre-crisis were settling for home improvements / expansions post-crisis. I wonder if you're benefiting from that trend, too?

Here's to more 50-thousand pound trucks rolling off your yard into 2010!

Be Good,
Don