Home Depot an alarming earnings report where they cited “frozen housing market conditions.”
The video above puts this in the context of the slowdown in the US housing market. THome Depot’s CFO explained that the company is doing well as it takes market share, but that U.S. same-store sales grew only 1.3% year-over-year (roughly –2.5% after inflation). Store visits contracted. This reflects weak homebuyer demand, which hurts sales of appliances, flooring, countertops, landscaping, etc.
There’s a real risk here to the economy. Housing represents roughly 15% of U.S. GDP. Prolonged weakness could spill into broader consumer spending (already showing a notable July retail drop) and eventually pressure the wider economy/stock market, which has so far been supported by consumer spending (often on credit amid low savings).
Meanwhile, the Trump Administration seems hell bent on making things worse. Between the Iran war and the latest trade war with Canada, they seem to be clueless.
