FILE PHOTO - A sign outside a house built by the D.R. Horton company is seen for sale in Arvada, Colorado January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

(Reuters) - Top U.S. homebuilder D.R. Horton forecast first-quarter deliveries below analysts’ estimates on Thursday, as rising interest rates push buyers to delay purchases of expensive homes.

The company’s shares fell 4.5 percent to $35.91 in premarket trading.

D.R. Horton said it expects first-quarter homes deliveries in the range of 11,000-11,500 units, below analysts’ average expectation of 11,852 homes, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The company also did not provide any forecasts for full-year 2019, citing uncertainty in the market.