The Housing Recovery Has More Than One Zip Code

A national housing number can conceal a very local story. Ahead of an existing-home-sales report, Matt Britton joins Fox Business to ask how much “the American housing market” really explains about the buyer down the street.

Economists expected the monthly figure to come in just above 4.7 million. The discussion considers cautious lending standards, qualified buyers reluctant to commit and the limits of low interest rates when confidence is weak.

Matt looks at differences between markets and industries. He points to job growth in technology, media and finance in cities including San Francisco, Irvine, Miami and Austin. In those markets, demand, limited supply and cash buyers were putting pressure on prices.

Austin illustrates the difficulty of finding a home in a growing technology market. Other regions, particularly those more dependent on manufacturing, faced slower growth and a different economic outlook.

Those differences also shape consumer sentiment. A national confidence poll can average together households whose employment prospects and housing choices have little in common.

Matt describes the stock market as a “public opinion poll” on a given day. Strong housing data might lift short-term sentiment and help push the Dow toward 17,000, but a daily reaction says less about the durability of a recovery.

The useful question is local: which jobs, buyers and supply constraints are shaping this particular market? That is where the national headline becomes a decision someone can actually make.