Rising Treasury yields have pushed mortgage rates above 7% in recent weeks, their highest in more than two years, making home purchases costlier. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF fell 9.9% over the past month, and D.R. Horton, PulteGroup and Lennar also declined.
The 10-year Treasury yield hit 5.2% last week, 1.26 percentage points above its late-February level. The article says bond market analysts attribute at least part of the rise to energy prices linked to the Iran war. It also cites U.S. debt above $40 trillion and hyperscalers’ borrowing for AI data centers as competing with Treasury securities for investors.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said higher energy prices are temporary and will recede quickly once the war ends. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, however, said prices may not fall quickly even if the Iran conflict ends unexpectedly, citing price-moderating mechanisms such as strategic reserves and commercial inventories that are largely spent. The article says homebuilder and related stocks are not a great bet for now; D.R. Horton fell 7%, PulteGroup 9.8% and Lennar 8.1% over the month.
