But with the Federal Reserve likely to keep interest rates on hold for the foreseeable future, there is hope that the housing market will begin to recover.
On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders will be their latest monthly survey of builders. Confidence rose in February, thanks to a decline in the mortgage rate, which has coincided with long-term bond yields this year.
Mortgages have fallen even further last, thanks to the Fed, as well as concerns about China's economy and the recent Brexit drama. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage hit 4.31% last week, the lowest level in more than a year.
"The housing market benefits from stock market volatility," said Odeta Kushi, vice president of finance with First American. "We have lots of busy demand from older millenniums that are sidelined and waiting to be homeowners. Lower prices should push home sales."
Kushi said that the latest work report also contributes well to housing. Although the number of jobs added was disappointing, salaries continued to rise. And it can help people trying to save money so they can go from living at home or renting to buying a house.
She pointed to a recent increase in home construction and housing composition as another good sign. The supply is larger than it had been.
"The housing market is still ready for a strong spring," said Joel Kan, assistant director of the Financial and Industrial Forecast for the Mortgage Bankers Association, who writes in his latest report on mortgage applications. The loan increase volume rose 2.3% earlier this month.
"We are starting to see signs of more new housing construction and inventory, which increases the buying opportunities of the many home retailers who have been hampered by the ongoing lack of supply," added.
The latest MBA numbers on mortgage applications will be released on Wednesday.
All this can lead to a turnaround in existing home sales for February, which will be released by the National Association of Realtors on Friday. Sales fell 1.2% from December to January. But Kushi thinks they are recovering last month.
It should be good news for housing-related stocks, which have already had a solid start in 2019 hoping the market is ready for a big comeback. – which includes large builders such as Lennar and Toll Brothers, as well as housing related companies such as Roomba vacuum maker SPDR S & P Homebuilders ETF [ XHB iRobot ( IRBT ) and apparatus giant Whirlpool ( WHR ) – is up 17% this year.
2. Fed's balance shrinks : The US central bank will make its last course decision on Wednesday at 14.00 ET, and Jerome Powell's chair will speak at 14:30. No interest rate increase is expected, so the hot topic will be whether the Fed will hint at changes in the so-called quantitative austerity policy.
The company submits a quarterly earnings update on Tuesday after the markets close. And given macroeconomic issues remains a major concern, investors will be looking for how it affects one of the world's largest curve companies.
Anyway, Wall Street is waiting for good news from Nike when it puts money on Thursday. Sales are expected to rise by almost 7%. But investors will be aware of what the company says about demand in China and Europe, given the latest signs of softness in these economies.
5. Coming this week:
