Sector Snap: Homebuilders shares mostly up
NEW YORK -- Shares of most homebuilders edged higher Tuesday after a report showed a jump in U.S. home prices, the latest sign of a housing recovery.
CoreLogic, a private real estate data provider, said U.S. home prices rose 4.6 percent in August from a year ago, the largest year-over-year increase in more than six years. Prices rose 0.3 percent in August from July, the sixth straight monthly gain.
Prices are rising in most parts of the country, CoreLogic said. Steady, widespread price increases, combined with greater home sales and rising builder confidence, suggest the housing rebound may be sustainable.
While broader markets traded lower, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index down 0.3 percent in the late afternoon, homebuilders ticked higher:
_PulteGroup Inc., up 18 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $15.49
_Toll Brothers Inc., up 7 cents at $33.25
_KB Home, up 18 cents to $14.43
_M/I Homes Inc., up 23 cents to $19.70
_MDC Holdings Inc., up 47 cents to $38.50
_Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., up 3 cents at $3.42
_D.R. Horton Inc., down 8 cents to $20.62
_Lennar Corp., up 8 cents at $34.73
_Ryland Group Inc., down 2 cents to $29.60
_Standard Pacific Corp., down 3 cents to $6.50