By Anshuman Tripathy and Purvi Agarwal
June 24 (Reuters) - Stocks of U.S. homebuilders rallied on Wednesday, a day after the House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at speeding the construction and availability of affordable housing.
The measure was passed by the Senate on Monday.
The PHLX Housing Index gained 5.4% to briefly hit its highest level since February 25, just before the onset of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The U.S. homebuilding sector has endured a prolonged sales slump, weighed
down by years of underproduction, due to labor shortages and restrictive land zoning, that have driven prices higher, while macroeconomic pressures have continued to hinder buyers.
Analysts at Evercore ISI said the bill would not provide a major near-term boost to homebuilders, but could prove meaningful to them in the long term.
However, President Donald Trump on Wednesday canceled his plan to sign the bill.
"Trump isn't saying he will veto. If he simply does nothing for 10 days, the housing bill will automatically become law even without his signature," said Evercore ISI's policy analyst, Matthew Aks. The move drove up shares of D.R. Horton and Lennar — among the biggest U.S. homebuilders — more than 6% each. They are on track to mark their biggest one-day gain since early January. Meanwhile, PulteGroup was up just over 8%, headed for its sharpest intraday rise since July last year. Smaller rivals NVR and Toll Brothers advanced 5.6% and 6.7%, respectively.
TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg said the bill benefits build-to-rent single-family constructions as it "carves this out of the institutional ownership cap."
Seiberg added that the bill sets the stage for more comprehensive legislation next year that could include subsidies to build low-cost homes, funds to renovate existing units and down payment assistance.
"We expect Trump to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act into law in the relative near-term, given the perceived importance of housing affordability ahead of the mid-term elections," UBS analyst John Lovallo said.
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
