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In addition, the number of respondents who characterized the present as a good time to buy a home increased to 68% from 64% in October. This number likely increased because of perceptions that the recent decline in home prices had made them more attractive; 47% of those who said it was a good time to buy a home cited lower prices, the most since November 1991.

In the latest week, the MBA's mortgage applications index for home purchases fell to 401.40 compared to 412.90 the previous week, which was the highest level since the week ended July 7th. The peak for the index was 529.30 in June 2005 and the peak for the four-week moving average was about 500.0. It has averaged 341.5 over the past 10 years.

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Stock Talk Blog: Take Retail Profits Ahead of the Holidays

Originally published on 11/21/2006 at 10:55 a.m. EST

There are 31 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But with "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" -- the two big spending days immediately following Thanksgiving -- just around the corner, the holiday spending outlook is still mixed. That has me thinking about protecting profits in retail stocks before we get news that could be less than cheery.

Based on the national Gallup poll conducted last week, 34% of adults believe they will spend at least $1,000 on gifts for the holiday season. This is much higher than the four-year average of 28% of adults foreseeing spending at that level, which suggests consumer spending is expected to be robust.