Reports on Tuesday, October 10 showed housing starts declined in September while new house building continued to show growth. Home sales in Toronto also appeared to continue the year-over-year decline but recent reports from the Toronto Real Estate Board have shown that prices are recovering.
We have talked about REIT dividends previously, but today let’s look at 2 dividend stocks that can rise with a bounce back in residential housing.
Genworth MI Canada Inc. (TSX:MIC) is the largest private residential mortgage lender in Canada. The company released its second quarter results on August 1. Net income was up 65% to $150 million from Q2 2016. Net insurance written from transactional insurance declined 14% largely due to the stress test introduced by the federal government. Even with the dips in housing Genworth stock has increased 13.6% in 2017 and 32% year over year. It boasts a dividend of $0.44 per share representing a dividend yield of 4.6%.
Equitable Group Inc. (TSX:EQB) is one of the largest alternative lenders in Canada, providing mortgage solutions to a broad customer base. It released its second quarter results on August 10. Net income was up 16% to $38.9 million compared to Q2 2016. The company did warn that new mortgage regulations from the OSFI could cut into sales growth. Equitable Group stock has declined 5.4% in 2017 and increased 9.6% year over year. The stock offers a dividend of $0.24 per share with a 1.7% dividend yield.
Houses in in higher price ranges have struggled to sell moving into September with buyers still looking for bargains. However, lower to medium prices have begun to heat up again, which could bode well for the broader market.
