Consumers Point to Stronger Housing:

Consumers drive the housing market. So when we see improvement in consumer behavior, it paints a prettier picture for housing.

Retail Sales rose more than expected in October to post their largest gain in seven months. The Commerce Department reported that total Retail Sales increased 1.2% which is the biggest increase since March. They also upwardly revised last month's data.

This report follows the much better than expected Consumer Sentiment report published by Reuters/University of Michigan. They reported that their preliminary consumer sentiment index jumped to a reading of 69.3 in November compared to 67.7 the month prior, putting in on track to be the best results since June. The release beat out analysts´expectations of 69.0.

Both of these reports show that consumers are back on track and coupled with very low mortgage rates could lead to more demand in housing.