The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price has continued its positive run and pushed higher again on Thursday.
So much so, the banking giant's shares climbed to a 52-week high of $29.00 this morning.
This latest gain means that NAB's shares have now risen almost 23% since the start of the year excluding dividends.
If you include the dividends the company has paid in 2019, this return stretches to an impressive 26%.
Why is the NAB share price at a 52-week high?
With no news out of the banks, the solid gains being made by NAB and the rest of the big four this week appear to have been driven by improving investor sentiment in the banking sector.
The catalyst for this looks to be positive signals emanating from the housing market.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the value of new loans issued to households increased by a sizeable 3.9% to $32 billion in July. This was the biggest increase in almost five years and appears to show that the downturn has officially come to an end.
As the big banks generate a significant portion of their profits from mortgage loans, investors may believe that they are over the worst of their issues now and a return to growth could be on the cards in the near future.
It isn't just NAB that is trading at a 52-week high. Also hitting a new 52-week high today has been the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price.
In addition to this, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is up 1% today and is now trading around 3% lower than its 52-week high.
Should you invest?
Although NAB and Westpac are trading at 52-week highs on Thursday, I continue to see a lot of value in their shares. This is especially the case for income investors in this low interest environment.
Overall, I would class them both as buys for investors with limited exposure to the sector.
