Home builder stocks have been on a tear this year as the grim market for existing homes pushed buyers to new construction. D.R. Horton ‘s solid earnings and 2024 outlook on Tuesday is adding fuel to the stocks’ fire.
The industry ETF has gained about 33% this year—with some home builders, such as small-caps Beazer Homes and Hovnanian Enterprises , the mid-sized M/I Homes , and the large PulteGroup having risen 80% or more. Investors may feel more positive about builder stocks, but consumer sentiment has soured as a limited supply of previously owned homes have sent broader home sales lower. Existing-home sales in September dwindled to their lowest seasonally-adjusted annual rate in nearly 13 years. Fannie Mae ‘s October housing market temperature check revealed that 85% of respondents said it was a bad time to buy a home—a high since at least 2010, when Fannie Mae began posing the question to consumers.
More than half of D.R. Horton’s customers are first-time buyers, executives said on a Tuesday earnings conference call—a group that is typically more susceptible to pricing pressures than repeat buyers. That’s not the only step D.R. Horton is taking to reduce cost on buyers. The builder is also introducing smaller floor plans—an option it expects buyers will seek next year to control costs.
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