US housing activity likely to remain stagnant this winter, followed by solid selling season in spring 2014; housing demand has moderated over last several quarters, driven partially by higher home prices and interest rates, tight credit standards: Fitch

Allison Oesterle

NEW YORK , January 23, 2014 (press release) – Although U.S. housing activity will remain stagnant during the seasonally slow winter months, a solid spring selling season is in the offing, according to Fitch Ratings.

Housing demand moderated during the past few quarters. The reasons for the movement were numerous, from reaction to sharply higher home prices and interest rates, tight credit standards, uncertainty because of the well-publicized government shutdown and Congressional battles over the budget and debt limits.

The larger public builders will continue to have superior access to capital markets and well-positioned land, enabling them to exploit the on-going cyclical housing expansion. Fitch will be discussing this and other market and competitive trends during its quarterly housing and homebuilder conference call to take place this morning at 11 AM ET.

The focus of the conference call will be to discuss third quarter 2013 (3Q'13) and more recent housing data, as well as Fitch's outlook for the U.S. housing sector and public homebuilders. Managing Director and lead Homebuilding Analyst Robert Curran will be the call leader and provide insights about the outlook for the 4Q'13 and 2014, as well as give a brief sector recap for 3Q'13. Robert Rulla will also be on hand to answer questions along with Curran after the formal presentation.

Following are details of the teleconference:

--Date: Thursday, January 23

--Time: 11:00 a.m. ET

--Conference ID: 37212173

--Dial-in Number: +1-877-467-8597

--Call Leader: Robert Curran

Replay information:

--Replay Dates: Jan. 23, 2014 -- Feb. 23, 2014

--U.S./Canada: +1-855-859-2056

--Replay ID: 37212173

The conference call follows the release of Fitch's 'U.S. Homebuilding: The Chalk Line -- Quarterly Update: Winter 2013/2014', which is available at 'www.fitchratings.com' or by clicking on the link at the end of the press release.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

U.S. Homebuilding/Construction: The Chalk Line (Winter 2013-2014)

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=728315

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

Fitch Ratings
Robert P. Curran
Managing Director
+1-212-908-0515
Fitch Ratings Inc., 1 State Street Plaza, New York, NY 10004
or
Robert Rulla
Director
+1-312-606-2311
or
Media Relations:
Sandro Scenga, New York, +1 212-908-0278
Email: sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com

Source: Fitch Ratings
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