Housing Outlook Dims Going Into 2015

The housing market has disappointed investors for several years in a row now, and Sterne Agee analysts Jay McCanless and Annie Worthman argue that consensus expectations for 2015 are once again too optimistic, though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s new programs that allow 3% down payments could give the housing sector a boost. “If originators take the bait on low down-payment mortgage programs, then unit sale volumes may exceed our estimate of 10.9% y/y order growth in FY15 versus the consensus estimate of 13.3% order growth,” they write. “But given the newness of these programs we do not believe there…