Bloomberg, July 2, 2024, Homebuilders Cut On ‘Sluggish’ Housing Market, Florida Woes
Homebuilder-stock analysts are increasingly worried about signs of softening in key hot spots like Florida and Texas.
Lennar Corp. and D.R. Horton Inc. were downgraded by Citigroup Inc. analyst Anthony Pettinari on concerns the housing market could stay “sluggish” in the second half of the year. Raymond James Financial Inc.’s Buck Horne also cut his recommendation on Lennar to market perform from outperform, particularly pointing to the company’s “outsized exposure” to Florida.
“We see softness in data – permits, starts, sales and prices all recently below expectations – potentially continuing” in the second-half of the year, Pettinari wrote in a Tuesday note to clients. “New and existing home inventories are ticking up and the ‘twin engines’ of the hot US housing market – Texas and Florida – are seeing some areas of softening.”
