Hard times for home

Reports of a rebound in the housing market are premature, as a recent sales report from furniture retailer Haverty’s illustrates. The operator of 121 furniture stores said same-store sales declined 22.6% during its second quarter ended June 30, after falling by a similar amount in the first quarter. Earlier in the year, Ethan Allen Interiors said comparable-store sales at its retail division declined 41.8% during the company’s third-quarter period ended March 31. The home category has been a source of weakness at Target too and, unfortunately, it looks to remain challenging until greater balance is restored to the market for new and existing homes and sales activity improves.