There’s No Place Like HOMZ

The real estate investment trust (REIT) market is a volatile and confounding place at present.

While the commercial real estate market continues to struggle, the housing market is on the rebound from its drop last year, with prices rising on mortgages and interest rates amid a significant housing shortage. While many investors want to take advantage of this upward spike in home prices, the decline in commercial retail has made people rightfully wary of traditional REITs.

Instead, investors may want to turn to other ETFs that exclusively focus on stocks in the housing market, staying out of commercial retail entirely. I have one to share with you — Hoya Capital Housing ETF (HOMZ).

Founded in 2019 by Pettee Investors, HOMZ tracks the Hoya Capital Housing 100 Index, a tier-weighted index of 100 equities representing the residential housing industry in the United States.

The fund’s holdings are selected through a screening process that looks for stocks with significant business operations in home ownership and rental operations, construction, home improvement and furnishings or home financing, technology and services. The top 100 companies are then included in the fund’s portfolio. The index is also reconstituted and rebalanced semi-annually.

Currently, HOMZ has $38.41 million assets under management, and has an expense ratio of 0.30%. It boasts a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a distribution yield of 1.93%.

The majority of HOMZ’s holdings are based in the United States, with an additional small percentage of its holdings based in Canada, making it fully centralized around North American stocks. Its current top holdings include Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW), Home Depot, Inc. (HD), Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL), KB Home (KBH) and Meritage Homes Corporation (MTH).

Courtesy of StockCharts.com

As seen by the chart above, HOMZ has been steadily rising over the past several months and is trading above both its 50- and 200-day moving averages. As of July 24, the fund had risen 9.53% in the past month, 15.47% in the past three months and an impressive 28.54% year to date.

While there will never be a place quite like home, what makes an ideal home is different for everyone, and the same holds true for one’s investment plan. Remember to always consider your personal financial situation and goals before making any investment. Investors are always encouraged to do their due diligence before adding any stock or ETF to their portfolios.

I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an email. You may just see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.

Jim Woods

Jim Woods is a 20-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor. Jim is the editor of Intelligence Report, Investing Edge, the Bullseye Stock Trader, and The Deep Woods (formerly the Weekly ETF Report). His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, Human Events and many others. Jim formerly worked with Investor’s Business Daily founder William J. O’Neil, helping to author training courses in the CANSLIM stock-picking methodology. The independent firm TipRanks rates Jim the No. 3 financial blogger in the world (out of more than 6,000). TipRanks calculates that, since 2012, he's made 361 successful recommendations out of 499 total, earning a success rate of 72% and a +15.3% average return per recommendation. He is known in professional and personal circles as “The Renaissance Man,” because his expertise includes such varied fields as composing and performing music; Western horsemanship, combat marksmanship, martial arts, auto racing and bodybuilding. Jim holds a BA in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a former U.S. Army paratrooper. A self-described “radical for capitalism,” he celebrates the virtue of making money from his Southern California horse ranch.