PKB

An all Democratic government is bullish in the long run because it means the government is likely to be pretty loose with the purse strings.When you build a house you realize that so much of the economy is dependent on stability in these goods that go into a home because they all comprise such a large part of the economy.My general view is that the President does not really matter for the stock market.

Economists estimate that home prices will rise by 3.7% in 2020. NAR too has reported bullish data for August 2020, and October 2020 data are likely to witness an uptick.Existing home supply has dropped and new building permits are holding steady, suggesting a bullish near-term outlook.Investors and traders can consider short-term bets on top homebuilders because the industry is in such a sweet spot.

30-year fixed-rate mortgage averages 2.80% for the week ending Oct. 22, down from 2.181% in the previous week and 3.75% a year ago, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage

Housing activity - starts and permits - posted strong results in September as the single-family segment made gains across most of the country while multifamily housing appears to be trending flat.The dominant single-family segment, which accounts for almost 80 percent of new home construction, rose 8.5 percent for the month to a rate of 1.108 million.Housing is one of the areas that may be experiencing structural change.

Housing is a long leading indicator, forecasting the direction of the overall economy 1 year or more in advance.Single family housing permits are the least volatile of these most leading housing metrics.Both total and single family permits rose to their highest levels since the first half of 2007.Starts are more volatile and tend to slightly lag permits. While they did not make new highs, the trend is still quite positive.

Who paid the rent? Real estate earnings season kicks off this week with more than 200 REITs and housing industry companies reporting earnings over the next month.Rent collection - a metric that was rarely reported in the pre-COVID-19 era - has become the most critical statistic tracked by investors due to its impact on dividend-paying capacity.Dividend cuts have been a major theme throughout the pandemic. 65 of 170 equity REITs have reduced their dividend, but since the start of Q3, dividend increases have outnumbered cuts.REITs enter third-quarter earnings season as the third-worst performing out of 11 GICS equity sectors. Improving rent collection and dividend commentary could be a positive catalyst to drive a recovery.While many commercial property sectors have struggled, several "essential" property sectors have thrived throughout the pandemic. We discuss the trends that we're watching this earnings season in each of the real estate property sectors.

U.S. equity markets finished flat this week as better-than-expected economic data and earnings results were offset by a continued fiscal stalemate and pressure on technology stocks amid a censorship controversy.The S&P 500 managed to eke out a 0.1% gain this week. The Nasdaq 100 ended the week on a four-day skid as Twitter and Facebook face Congressional subpoenas.Coming off its best two-week gain since April, a sharp sell-off among COVID-sensitive property sectors sent Equity REITs lower by 2.7% with 17 of 18 property sectors in negative territory.Retail sales were far stronger than expected in September, gaining for the fifth month in a row and setting new record highs. Retail sales are now higher by 5.4% from last year, led by the e-commerce and home improvement categories.While retail sales and housing data have exhibited continued strength, the employment recovery has shown signs of losing steam in recent weeks with Initial Jobless Claims coming in above estimates.