Home sales hit highest rate in 3 years

Home sales shares post best month since November 2009 as rising prices brought both buyers and sellers back to the market.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Sales of previously owned homes reached an annual rate of nearly 5 million in February, the strongest pace in more than three years.

The report Thursday from the National Association of Realtors was the latest sign of a housing recovery that has become a major positive force for the economy.

The February rate of 4.98 million homes was up 10% from a year earlier, although it was only 1% higher than the revised January pace.

It was the best month since November of 2009. But that early spike in sales was caused by a temporary $5,000 tax credit for home buyers in place at that time. The current strength is due to improved fundamentals, including a drop in foreclosures and near record low mortgage rates. A decline in the nation's unemployment rate is also helping.

The median sales price in the month was $173,600, up nearly 12% from a year ago and in keeping with the trend of rising home prices. The rising prices may have prompted some more people to put their homes on the market as the supply of homes for sale rose for the first time since July. But the supply was still very tight -- only about a 4.7 month supply at the current sales pace.

"The real news is the rise in the inventory," said Paul Diggle, property economist with Capital Economics in a note Thursday. "This is the first increase in supply of any real significance for more than two years. It's too early to say if the trough in supply is behind us, but we get the sense that it's close."

Distressed home sales, which include foreclosures and short sales sold for less than is owed on the mortgage -- accounted for 25% of February sales, up slightly from January but well below the 34% share of the market a year ago.

View the Original article

Miami Heat's winning streak sparks sales rush

Fans are snapping up Miami Heat uniforms and other merchandise during the team's current winning streak.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The Miami Heat's extraordinary winning streak has captured the attention of basketball fans across the country, and the team's merchandise is flying off shelves.

Sales of Heat items are up 30% year-to-date compared to 2012, according to SportsOneSource, a research service that tracks sales of licensed sports merchandise. Sales of Heat items at the NBAstore.com are up 40% since the start of the streak, according to league spokeswoman Amanda Thorn.

The Heat won its 24th straight game Wednesday, coming back from a 27-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers. If the team keeps winning through its April 9 game, it would break the league's record of 33 straight wins, which was set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1971-72 season.

Related: LeBron to pitch Dunkin Donuts in Asia

The Heat's sales spike far outpaced the sales of the rest of the league. The NBA says its domestic league merchandise sales are up less than 10% year to date. SportsOneSource's independent reading on NBA sales shows a 25% decrease so far this year. It attributes that drop to the "Linsanity" phenomenon during the year ago period. The sudden emergence of then New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin sparked a huge but short-lived spike in sales.

Related: Heat owner loud about his team, quiet about his troubled company Carnival

Thorn said that the surge in sales has moved Heat items into the No. 2 position at the league's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York, behind only the hometown Knicks.

However the Heat's growing sales mean relatively little to the team's own bottom line. Proceeds of all licensed NBA merchandise is split evenly among all 30 teams.

View the Original article

Judge approves sales of Twinkies, Wonder Bread

A bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Twinkies, Wonder Bread and most of the other top products of Hostess Brands.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) A bankruptcy judge has given final approval for the sale of Twinkies, Wonder Bread and many of Hostess Brands' other assets, clearing the way for the iconic products to return to shelves.

Hostess snacks -- including Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and Zingers -- were sold for $410 million to a joint venture of private equity firms Apollo Global Management (APO) and Metropoulos & Co. They expect to return the product to store shelves this summer.

Wonder Bread and most of Hostess' other bread brands was purchased by baker Flowers Foods (FLO) for $360 million. The company has yet to give a date for when those breads will be back in stores. On Thursday, Judge Robert Drain also approved the $31.9 million sale of the Beefsteak bread brand to baker Grupo Bimbo (GRBMF), a Mexico-based company that is one of the largest U.S. bakers.

None of these products have been manufactured since Hostess, which was already in bankruptcy court, went out of business during a strike by members of its bakers' union. The company has been selling off its brands since then to try to raise money for creditors. Thursday's sales account for more than $800 million.

Related: An unlikely Twinkies savior?

Most of the 18,500 Hostess workers lost their jobs a result of the shutdown. But many former Hostess bakeries were included in the sales, suggesting that the buyers will need to do some hiring to restart the brands. The buyers have not commented on their hiring plans.

Flowers is buying 20 bakeries and about 38 depots with its purchase; Apollo and Metropoulos are buying five bakeries.

Metropoulos has experience turning around financially troubled food brands. The firm's food holdings include Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and in the past have included Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Bumble Bee seafood, PAM cooking spray and Gulden's Mustard, all of which it eventually sold to ConAgra Foods Inc (CAG, Fortune 500).

Court approval is still pending for some other winning bidders, including privately held McKee Foods' purchase of the Drake's snack business for $27.5 million, and United States Bakery's $28.85 million winning bid for Hostess' Sweetheart, Eddy's, Standish Farms, and Grandma Emilie's bread brands, along with four bakeries.

View the Original article