Surging home prices and an uptick in 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have kept the real estate market frozen while punishing homebuilders. But for home improvement stores, a frozen real estate market has not been the tailwind many expected from homeowners staying put.
Last week, Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW)—the two companies that form a veritable duopoly in retail home improvement—saw their respective shares hit 52-week lows.