Unique -- And Safe! -- Housing Plays

Brent Wilsey says he's surprised at what he found when he went looking for investment prospects among housing-industry stocks.

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The president of Wilsey Asset Management told CNBC he was impressed by a builder in the Southeast, NVR .

"They have no properties in Florida, Nevada, or California," he said.  "This builder's doing very well...they have seen their earnings decline by 39 percent, but they still did deliver a 25 percent return on equity."

He sees the company's fundamentals as very good, although the stock does tend to trade on the high side.

Not a homebuilder, but a bank, and thus very closely tied to the industry, is Wells Fargo .

"It kind of has this unique situation, that they will only loan you money if you have the potential to pay it back," he said, tongue-in-cheek. 

Among Wells Fargo's many attractions, Wilsey finds a healthy dividend, something he also sees in the REIT Prologis .

"I had to dig very hard to find a REIT that I liked here, and Prologis was one of those," he said. "Earnings for this REIT were up 35 percent year-over-year."

In still another corner of the housing sector, he found Travelers .

"You've got to insure your home," he said.  "Travelers is down 16 percent from its 52-week high.  You get about a 2.4 percent dividend.  The company is looking to earn $6.01 in 2008.  Maybe you'll find a dividend increase here, or perhaps a stock buyback."

Disclosure:

Wilsey and his firm do not have any financial involvement in any of the listed entities.

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