XHB vs ITB ETF Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
XHB and ITB both provide housing sector exposure but with different compositions. XHB is the broader housing ecosystem ETF — homebuilders plus home improvement, furnishings, and building products. ITB is the purer homebuilder concentration ETF focusing on DR Horton, Lennar, PulteGroup, NVR, and Toll Brothers. For housing recovery investors: XHB for diversified housing activity exposure; ITB for direct homebuilder stock concentration.
XHB vs ITB — SPDR Homebuilders ETF (broad equal-weight housing ecosystem including furnishings, home improvement, and building products alongside homebuilders) versus iShares US Home Construction ETF (concentrated pure-play homebuilder exposure in the 5 largest US homebuilders — the higher-leverage housing construction thesis vehicle).
XHB holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. XHB has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-13.91% vs -18.17% for ITB).
- want broad housing ecosystem exposure beyond pure homebuilders — capturing home improvement (HD/LOW), furnishings (Williams-Sonoma), appliances (Whirlpool), and building materials alongside homebuilders
- prefer equal-weighting that prevents DR Horton or Lennar from dominating the ETF — smaller housing companies contribute equally to returns
- value housing activity diversification across renovation and furnishing in addition to new home construction — a more holistic housing market bet than pure homebuilder concentration
- are comfortable with less direct correlation to housing starts data vs ITB's purer homebuilder concentration
- want the purest homebuilder concentration for expressing a housing construction thesis — DR Horton, NVR, Lennar, PulteGroup, and Toll Brothers as the dominant portfolio weight
- seek higher leverage to housing starts and new home construction economics vs XHB's diluted broader housing ecosystem approach
- want to buy homebuilder stocks tactically around housing market data (housing starts, permits, new home sales) where pure homebuilder stocks move most directly
- are comfortable with higher concentration risk in pure homebuilder stocks vs XHB's more diversified approach across housing-adjacent industries
| Metric | XHB | ITB |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 37.0 | 35.0 |
| Latest closei | $96.56 | $87.85 |
| 1M returni | -9.33% | -9.13% |
| 6M returni | -2.64% | -2.88% |
| 1Y returni | -13.91% | -18.17% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | XHB | ITB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.81K (-11.9%) started 2025-09-22 | $8.46K (-15.4%) started 2025-09-22 |
| 5Y ago | $14.12K (+41.2%) started 2021-09-21 | $14.18K (+41.8%) started 2021-09-21 |
| 10Y ago | $33.63K (+236.3%) started 2016-09-21 | $37.38K (+273.8%) started 2016-09-21 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | XHB | ITB |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.35% | 0.37% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $1.33B | $2.36B |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.77% | 0.68% |
| Trailing P/Ei | 18.33 | 15.03 |
| Betai | 1.26 | 1.28 |
| 52-week change | -13.91% | -18.17% |
| Metric | XHB | ITB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | -13.91% | -18.17% |
| 6M returni | -2.64% | -2.88% |
| 1M returni | -9.33% | -9.13% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | -0.51 | -0.64 |
| Betai | 1.26 | 1.28 |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.77% | 0.68% |
| 5Y CAGR | +6.28% | +6.14% |
Over the past year, XHB and ITB have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.97), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | XHB | ITB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -12.57% | -16.51% |
| CAGRi | -12.61% | -16.57% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.67% | 29.06% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.51 | -0.64 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.76 | -0.95 | |
| Max drawdowni | 21.60% | 23.93% | |
| Current drawdowni | 20.08% | 21.72% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.31% | 11.40% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.99% | 13.06% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.52% | 3.97% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 8.49% | 8.60% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +35.61% | +34.68% |
| CAGRi | +6.28% | +6.14% | |
| Volatilityi | 28.15% | 29.73% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.20 | 0.20 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.29 | 0.29 | |
| Max drawdowni | 39.46% | 40.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 21.99% | 30.01% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 14.11% | 16.20% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 17.19% | 19.43% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.08% | 7.02% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 15.58% | 17.16% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +207.76% | +245.72% |
| CAGRi | +11.90% | +13.21% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.66% | 30.31% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.38 | 0.41 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.55 | 0.60 | |
| Max drawdowni | 49.57% | 52.10% | |
| Current drawdowni | 21.99% | 30.01% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.19% | 13.29% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 14.92% | 17.23% | |
| Max daily dropi | 18.39% | 20.19% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 32.31% | 36.64% |
| Category | XHB | ITB |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF | iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.35% | 0.37% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $1.33B | $2.36B |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.77% | 0.68% |
- Broader housing ecosystem exposure: XHB's inclusion of home improvement, furnishings, and appliance companies provides less concentrated homebuilder exposure — a wider housing market bet
- Equal-weighting reduces mega-cap concentration: XHB's equal-weight methodology prevents DR Horton or Lennar from dominating returns — smaller homebuilders and housing-adjacent companies contribute equally
- Housing activity diversification: XHB benefits from move-in buyers (furnishings, appliances, home improvement) in addition to new home construction — multiple revenue streams of housing market activity
- Pure homebuilder concentration: ITB's top 5 holdings are the largest US homebuilders — more direct exposure to new home construction economics vs XHB's diluted housing ecosystem approach
- DR Horton and Lennar weighting: the two largest US homebuilders represent significant ITB weight — investors get direct exposure to market-leading builders benefiting most from housing supply shortages
- Housing starts correlation: ITB's pure homebuilder focus creates tighter correlation to housing starts data — the preferred vehicle for investors wanting to express a housing construction thesis
- Less pure homebuilder exposure than ITB: investors wanting pure homebuilder exposure may prefer ITB's concentrated homebuilder holdings vs XHB's broader housing sector mix
- Home improvement sensitivity to renovation trends: XHB's Home Depot and Lowe's exposure introduces renovation spending cycles that may not align with homebuilder timing
- 0.35% expense vs ITB's 0.40%: XHB is marginally cheaper than ITB but both expense ratios are high for sector ETFs vs broad market alternatives
- Homebuilder concentration risk: ITB's top 5 holdings are all homebuilders — sector-specific risks (material costs, labor, interest rates) create correlated drawdown risk vs XHB's more diversified housing exposure
- Interest rate sensitivity: homebuilder stocks are more sensitive to mortgage rate changes than broader housing stocks — when rates rise sharply, homebuilder stocks often fall more steeply than ITB's price action
- 0.40% expense ratio: modestly higher than XHB's 0.35% for the purer homebuilder tilt — both are expensive relative to broad market alternatives
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