Spring is in the Air for Homebuilder Stocks (XHB) (LEN)

Homebuilding stocks are moving higher this morning with SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE: XHB) gaining 1.6 percent in early trading. The move higher in XHB comes as builder Lennar Corp (NYSE: LEN) topped estimates on the top and bottom line. The beat was driven by improvements in volume, gross margins, and SG&A.

Homebuilding revenues improved 23 percent year-over-year due to an increase in deliveries and new order growth, while the average selling prices improved 2% to $250,000 vs. $245,000 year-over-year, with incentives declining.

Analysts at Williams financial said they "are pleased with the ongoing solid performance [LEN] demonstrated over the past two plus years and with consistent improving fundamental performance, even in the historically low housing volume environment. The company has proven its ability to right size its business and find attractive land acquisition opportunities while diversifying business strategies to drive top and bottom line performance."

There as been a string of positive housing data out this week, including New Home Sales, Case/Shiller Home Prices, and U.S. Pending Home Sales, which was reported today. All of these data points came in higher than expected, and it is no surprise that homebuilder stocks continue to outperform.

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