Quikrete Industry Dashboard

In an abbreviated, Thanksgiving-holiday-impacted work week, the Quikrete Industry Dashboard holds steady with updates for stocks and gas prices.

Both of those metrics are moving in positive directions—at least for the month.

All 10 of the hardware and building supply ticker symbols are in positive territory for the month, led by SHW and HD, up 14.9. percent and 14.8 percent respectively.

Most stocks are down for the year, however. The outlier is DE, up more than 20 percent from a year ago.

Elsewhere on the Dashboard, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales declined for the ninth month in a row to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million. Sales were down 5.9 percent from September and down 28.4. percent from the same month a year ago.

The NAR supplied additional color to the housing market: the median existing-home price for all housing types in October was $379,100, a gain of 6.6% from October 2021 ($355,700), as prices rose in all regions. This marks 128 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, the longest-running streak on record.

Meanwhile, the residential construction charts show starts in retreat. Total housing starts declined 4.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.425 million. Single-family starts fell harder, down 6.1 percent on a month-to-month basis.

Gains were to be found, albeit inflation aided, on the monthly sales charts. NAICS 444 retailers – building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers – saw a 9.1 percent year-over-year gain.

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Coming next: The Conference Board will release the closely watched Consumer Confidence Index on Nov. 29.