Homebuilders 'in the catbird seat' -ETF exec

STORY: Aggressive rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve to tame inflation have pushed up mortgage rates.

As O'Hara explains, that has prevented many current homeowners from upgrading to larger houses, something they may have done in a lower-rate environment.

"If I have a 3% mortgage on my house, I don't want to sell it and then trade it for a more expensive house with a six or a 7% mortgage. And so that supply sort of has been diminishing."

As a result, "this sort of puts the home builders, if you will, in the catbird seat, because they're building new supply."

In late January, U.S. homebuilder D.R. Horton raised its forecast for full-year home sales to the range of 87,000 homes to 90,000 homes, compared with a prior expectation of 86,000 homes to 89,000 homes sold.