Record Home Buying | REITs Rebound | Malls Make Moves
Daily Recap
- U.S. equity markets finished mostly higher on Monday as resilient strength in the critical U.S. housing sector continues to underpin the robust equity market rally over the past several months.
- Following gains of 0.7% last week, the S&P 500 finished higher by 0.3% today, finishing within 1% of all-time record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 86 points.
- Bouncing back from declines of 1.6% last week, Equity REIT ETFs finished higher by 0.8% today with 16 of 18 property sectors finishing in positive territory. Mortgage REITs declined by 0.9%.
- Homebuilder sentiment jumped to the strongest levels in at least 20 years in August, driven by a surge in Home Buyer Traffic, which far exceeded previous record levels.
- Mall REITs have dominated the REIT-related newsflow over the last week. Embattled mall REIT Washington Prime led the gains today after negotiating amendments to its credit facilities.
