After the worst year in a decade, housing stocks are poised to have one of the best in the past seven years, per new data from financial data firm FactSet.
The iShares Home Construction (ITB) exchange-traded fund (ETF) has had 17.7 percent growth in 2019, and the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) has returned 19.3 percent, topping year-to-date growth for both the S&P 500 index (11.6 percent) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA (12 percent). Housing shares have benefited from the Federal Reserve's changing policy position on borrowing costs to be more dovish, MarketWatch reports. Following the release of new Commerce data this week that new-home construction recently had a two-year low, these housing funds dropped by about 0.6 percent.
On top of that, the Case-Shiller home price index grew by 4.2 percent in December, below economists expectations, and at the slowest rate since housing prices bottomed in 2012. Meanwhile, housing-sensitive Home Depot Inc. HD, -0.17 percent announced disappointing fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday that helped to underscore concerns about Americans appetite for real estate and home improvements.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Housing Markets
States Seek Long-Term Solutions to Reform Property Taxes
Rising home prices typically lead to higher property tax assessments, which has been the case in many Mountain West states, prompting lawmakers to grapple with property tax relief
Housing Markets
Metros Where Housing Prices Have Doubled in Less Than 10 Years
Historical data show it's taken less than 10 years for home prices to double in 68 of the country’s 100 largest cities
Housing Policy + Finance
Even With Inflation Running Hot and Elevated Mortgage Rates, Buyer Demand Rises
Mortgage rates will likely stay high for the next few months, but that doesn't seem to be deterring homebuyers