Housing Stays Red Hot
- U.S. equity markets climbed to fresh all-time record highs this week as another slate of stellar housing data provided reassuring evidence that the economic rebound remains on solid footing.
- Gaining for the seventh week out of the past eight and eclipsing pre-pandemic highs, the S&P 500 rose by another 0.8% this week while the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged nearly 4%.
- Finishing lower for the second-straight week, however, the Equity REITs declined by 0.4% this week with 12 of 18 property sectors finishing in negative territory while Mortgage REITs dipped 2.7%.
- Existing Homes Sales surged by 24.7% in July from last month and rose nearly 9% from last year. This was the strongest monthly gain in the history of the survey and was the highest sales pace since 2006.
- Homebuilder Sentiment jumped back above pre-pandemic levels in August driven by a surge in Home Buyer Traffic, which far exceeded previous record levels. Housing Starts and Building Permits were also impressive.
