Dive Brief:
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Home sales are off to a strong start for some of the largest publicly traded builders, according to reports the firms made to investors in the past two weeks.
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The Wall Street Journal reported that Taylor Morrison, M/I Homes, Ryland Group and Beazer Homes all told investors their January sales improved during the second half of the month and exceeded their tallies for January 2014, when especially bad weather stalled homebuying.
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The builders credited their profitable January to homebuyer confidence, which has increased as interest rates remain low, job creation grows and wages increase.
Dive Insight:
Swift sales before Super Bowl Sunday, which is the traditional start of the spring selling season, could indicate that a strong second quarter is in the works. At least one of the big builders feels confident about that: “I’ve got to tell you right now, I feel pretty good about what we see in the market in January and how everybody is reacting,” Ryland CEO Larry Nicholson told investors late last week, The Journal reported. “I see a lot more positives this year before the Super Bowl than I have in the past, quite a few,” he said.