Home Sales Fuel Distributor Optimism

The real estate market keeps the American economy robust—and profitable for distributors.

In its 2004 Performance and Accountability Report, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that the nation's homeownership rate reached a record high of 69 percent, an increase of 0.6 percent from the homeownership rate at the end of 2003. The document also showed that the United States gained an estimated 1,594,000 new homeowners—attaining a new high of 73.7 million homeowners.