Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Signs of Housing Turnaround (Final)

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "Owning a home could be making comeback," Jim Cramer announced to his "Mad Money" TV show viewers Monday. He said the impact of housing is now palpable in the markets and it's likely to stay that way for years to come.

Cramer explained that while lingering problems in Europe and rising gasoline prices are a still a concern for the markets, consumer spending is what has been driving the markets as of late.

He said consumers are dining out more often, as evidenced by Darden Restaurants (DRI) strong earnings. Cramer said consumers are driving to destinations like Walt Disney (DIS), as noted by today's Goldman Sachs (GS) upgrade of the company. But most importantly, consumers are spending on their homes.

Cramer said that the home improvement is on fire, propelling Lowes (LOW) to blow away the estimates. Pending home sales for January were also on the rise, as for the first time in five years, spending money on a home might not be a losing proposition.

Playing the recovery in house shouldn't be done via the home builders however, cautioned Cramer, it should be done by all of the ancillary plays, stocks like Lowes and rival Home Depot (HD), also with Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), a stock which Cramer owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS.

Cramer also gave the nod to other home-related plays like Whirlpool (WHR) and Pier 1 Imports (PIR), along with mortgage centric banks like Wells Fargo (WFC) and even Bank of America (BAC).