Homebuilding stocks have been some of the hottest postelection trades, but there's a chance that they could be standing on some shaky ground.
While the homebuilders have surged more than 9 percent since the election thanks, in part, to strong earnings and an improving economic outlook, the stocks have retreated in the past week and a half. But the troubles have been building for the last few years, according to Oppenheimer technician Ari Wald, who describes "mixed signals" in the charts of the home construction ETF ITB.
"The lower relative highs over the past few years do indicate a more questionable long-term trend," he said Monday on CNBC's "Power Lunch."
The ETF holds well-known names such as Pulte and Toll Brothers, both of which have seen fairly large drops in December along with construction company Lennar. Home Depot is also among the largest holdings and one of the only big stocks in the ETF that hasn't seen a significant December decline.
On the other hand, Harvest Volatility Management partner Dennis Davitt believes there's still room to run for the homebuilders, especially given the industry outlook.
"[The homebuilders] will get you exposure to the broader market," Davitt said on "Power Lunch." "The reason I like that is because with everything that's going on in the marketplace right now, I don't think the rise in mortgage rates is going to outweigh the rise in confidence."
One stock that Davitt likes in particular is KB Home, currently up more than 32 percent year to date and down only slightly from its 2016 high.
