George Steer and Mari Novik
Shares in US homebuilders have tumbled as fears that interest rates will remain higher for longer add to concerns that president-elect Donald Trump's potential tariffs and mass deportations will raise construction costs.
Since Trump's election win in November the S&P 500 homebuilding index has dropped 17.3 per cent to its lowest level since July. US steel manufacturers and home furnishing groups have also suffered sell-offs following a two-year post-pandemic boom.
Shares in DR Horton, America's largest home builder, have fallen 17 per cent in the two months since Trump's victory. Residential construction giants Lennar and PulteGroup have lost 21 per cent and 15 per cent over the same period. The three homebuilders have shed a combined $76bn in market value.
The declines mark a sharp reversal from the first three-quarters of last year, when shares in homebuilders had surged as new sales rebounded even as interest rates stood at their highest level since 2001.
Although the average 30-year mortgage rate remained above 6 per cent at the end of last year, successive rate cuts by the Federal Reserve since September had given the homebuilding sector a further boost.
US homebuilder shares slide on fears of higher rates, tariffs
FE Team | Published: January 05, 2025 00:00:28
US homebuilder shares slide on fears of higher rates, tariffs
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