Homebuilders Digest New-Home Sales Data

Homebuilder stocks rose Thursday even after new-home sales data came in lower than economists expected, a sign of continued weakness in the U.S. housing market.

Sales of new homes totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 in March, down 8.5% from February and 36% from a year earlier, the Census Bureau said. This is the lowest sales pace since 1991, the last major housing recession in the U.S.

The amount of homes for sale at the end of March remained roughly flat from the prior month, at 468,000 homes. However, the weak sales pace sent the month's supply of inventory to 11, up from 10.2 in February.

The median price of a home was $227,600, down from $262,600 a year earlier.

Homebuilder stocks originally traded lower on the news, but recently rose in midday trading. Standard Pacific (SPF Quote - Cramer on SPF - Stock Picks) climbed 2.4%, D.R. Horton (DHI Quote - Cramer on DHI - Stock Picks) rose 3%, Centex (CTX Quote - Cramer on CTX - Stock Picks) lifted 3.4% and KB Home (KBH Quote - Cramer on KBH - Stock Picks) climbed 2.5%.

The data followed weak earnings reports from homebuilders Pulte Homes (PHM Quote - Cramer on PHM - Stock Picks) and Ryland (RYL Quote - Cramer on RYL - Stock Picks), which both booked large quarterly losses and new order declines. Ryland and Pulte shares both traded higher, up 5.15 and 2.7%, respectively, in midday trading.