Talking Points …
- Zeal for home renovations may serve as a promising sign for the market’s rebound, according to Bloomberg. Concerns about the housing recovery and sluggish job growth are not evident in demand for appliances, flooring, and paint.
- Home-renovation stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s both topped their initial sales forecasts for last year. Home Depot topped fourth-quarter earnings estimates yesterday, marking six straight years of meeting or beating projections. Lowe’s forecasts 5 percent annual sales growth.
- Sales at Home Depot rose 5.4 percent to $78.8 billion last year, more than twice the 2 percent growth rate the company had initially expected. At Lowe’s, purchases above $500 have been the biggest source of sales gains, and in the latest period, those kinds of orders rose 8.9 percent.