iShares US Home Construction ETF

ITB

Market cap $2.87B

The US housing market slump dragged into its fourth year in 2025 as sales remained stuck at a 30-year low.

CNBC's Rick Santelli and Diana Olick join ‘Squawk on the Street' with the latest home sale data to cross the tape.

Home sales finished 2025 with surprisingly strong momentum, reflecting easing mortgage rates and slower growth in home prices.

There were 1.18 million units available for sale at the end of December, down 18% from November. The median price of a home sold in December was $405,400, up 0.4% from a year earlier.

New home sales were practically unchanged in October following September's increase. According to the Census Bureau, new home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 737,000 in October.

Sales edged down to 737,000 in October last year, from 738,000 in September, but up from a downwardly revised 711,000 in August.

The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF began the 2025/2026 seasonal trade in a bear market, offering steep discounts versus the S&P 500. Recent policy pushes for housing affordability, a $200B Fannie/Freddie bond-buying directive, triggered ITB's sharp outperformance over the S&P 500 since late October. Despite analyst downgrades and volatile headlines, ITB's seasonal trade thesis remains intact, supported by stabilizing housing data and potential policy catalysts.

The 'Fast Money' traders talk gains in the housing sector as mortgage rates fall.

IBD's homebuilding and mortgage industry groups were both in the top 20 of 197 groups Friday morning.

I rate State Street® SPDR® S&P® Homebuilders ETF a buy for its diversified, supply-chain-wide exposure versus iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF, rated hold. XHB's equal-weight strategy reduces single-company risk and captures upside from renovation, retail, and building products amid high mortgage rates and demographic-driven demand. ITB's concentration in large homebuilders faces margin pressures from rising land costs and regulatory scrutiny, making it less attractive in the current macro environment.