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• The REIT rally continued into its sixth consecutive week, pushing their YTD gains to an impressive 14%. Moderate growth and low inflation have been ideal conditions for real estate outperformance.
• Not to be outdone, homebuilders and housing stocks delivered another stellar week. The 30-year mortgage rate dipped to the lowest level since February 2018.
• Within the housing sector, the real estate technology and home furnishings sectors have been particularly strong in 2019. Redfin gave an upbeat outlook on housing markets on their earnings call.
• Clashing with other data points showing a decent-to-strong holiday shopping season, December retail sales were disappointing, calling into question the accuracy of the data amid the shutdown.
• Inflation data has moderated in recent months after peaking in mid-2018. Housing inflation (42% of CPI) remains the primary driver of total inflation, a result of a lingering supply shortage.