More Bad News For Housing and Financial ETFs

The housing market decline hasn’t quite finished and could continue to affect housing and financial exchange traded funds (ETFs).  The Wells Fargo (WFC) CEO reported that this housing market downturn is the worst decline since the Great Depression.  Factors contributing to the weak market range from too much demand for homes in the early 2000s to an increase in fraudlent loans and risky loan products, reports the Associated Press.

The affects of the housing decline are certainly reflected in the housing and financial related ETFs.  A sampling of those ETFs and their year-to-date performance include:

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate ETF (IYR) is down 14.4%
• SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) is down 43.9%
• Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) - down 14.1%