Here Come The Millennials, And Potentially A Virus
- U.S. equity markets sold-off this week by the most since early August as softer-than-expected economic data and mounting fears over the spread of the coronavirus erased 2020's earlier gains.
- The S&P 500 finished lower by 2.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 700 points on the week as investors piled into safe-haven assets.
- The domestic-focused residential and commercial real estate sectors were again a bright spot amid the weakness. REITs and Housing are among the best-performing sectors this year.
- Here come the millennials. Lower mortgage rates powered the homeownership rate to the highest level since 2013 at 65.1% as the under-35-year-old ownership rate climbed to the highest level in a decade.
- Gains in the homeownership rate, however, did not come at the expense of the rental markets. Rather, strong household formation growth has kept vacancy rates near historic lows for both owned and rented units.
