Alex Pettee, CFA- Alex Pettee, CFA
Summary
U.S. equity markets finished mostly-lower Tuesday ahead of a critical slate of inflation data beginning Wednesday morning as employment data today showed a historic surge in American's quitting jobs.
Following declines of 0.7% on Monday, the large-cap S&P 500 slipped 0.2% today while the Mid-Cap 400 finished higher by 0.5% and the Small-Cap 600 gained 0.2%.
Real estate equities were among the leaders today - led once again by residential real estate sectors. The Equity REIT Index rallied 1.3% with 17-of-19 property sectors in positive-territory.
Canadian-based Tricon Residential (TCN) completed its dual-listing in the U.S. and is now traded on the NYSE under symbol TCN. Tricon owns roughly 25k single-family rentals, primarily in the Sunbelt region.
Worker Walkouts? JOLTs employment data today showed that workers quit their jobs at a record pace in August which economists attribute, in part, to vaccine mandates that began to take effect in August.
Real Estate Daily Recap
U.S. equity markets finished mostly-lower again Tuesday ahead of a critical slate of inflation data beginning Wednesday morning as employment data today showed that a historic number of Americans quit their jobs in August. Following declines of 0.7% on Monday, the large-cap S&P 500 slipped 0.2% today while the Mid-Cap 400 finished higher by 0.5% and the Small-Cap 600 gained 0.2%. Real estate equities were among the leaders today - led by once again by residential real estate sectors - as the Equity REIT Index rallied 1.3% today with 17-of-19 property sectors in positive territory while Mortgage REITs gained 0.8%.
Ahead of the closely-watched Consumer Price Index report tomorrow morning, the 10-Year Treasury Yield retreated back below 1.60% today. Bonds and yield-sensitive equity sectors were among the leaders today as a result including Real Estate (XLRE) and Utilities (XLU). Investors are also focused on the formal start of earnings season with most of the largest banks reporting results this week, kicking off tomorrow with JP Morgan (JPM). A strong day from residential REIT sectors - including manufactured housing, apartment, and storage REITs, lifted the broader Hoya Capital Housing Index to gains as well today ahead of the start of REIT earnings season next week.
Worker Walkouts? JOLTs employment data today showed that workers quit their jobs at a record pace in August while the total number of job openings unexpectedly declined. While the quit rate had been trending higher in recent months, economists attribute the spike in August to the combination of the "fourth wave" of COVID and the institution of vaccine mandates - many of which were formally announced or threatened in August - which has worsened an already tough staffing situation across many "essential" sectors. Survey data suggests that as much as 5% of the workforce in some sectors - including healthcare - stated the intent to resign if mandates were instituted while dozens of labor unions oppose the mandate and have filed legal challenges.
Equity REITs
Storage: Last night, we published Zero To Hero which analyzed recent developments in the self-storage sector and previewed third quarter earnings which will begin next week. Storage REITs stumbled into the pandemic with challenged fundamentals and an outlook for near-zero growth amid oversupply challenges. Catalyzed by the suburban housing boom, self-storage demand is suddenly insatiable. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, storage REITs have continued their incredible turnaround this year. Consistent with trends across the housing sector, storage rents are soaring across the country. Despite the rally, valuations remain compelling as the sector's strong balance sheets, low cap-ex profile, and above-average external growth potential warrant a premium multiple relative to other REIT sectors.
Single Family Rental: Canadian-based Tricon Residential (TCN) completed its dual-listing in the U.S. and is now traded on the NYSE under symbol TCN. As part of its U.S. listing, TCN launched an offering of 46.2M common shares at $12.40/share and 4.9M additional shares through a private placement to Blackstone's (BX) non-traded REIT for total proceeds of $570M. Tricon is an owner and operator of 33,000 single-family rental homes and multi-family rental apartments in the United States and Canada with a primary focus on the U.S. Sunbelt. TCN joins American Homes (AMH) and Invitation Homes (INVH) as the third U.S. publicly-traded single-family rental REIT.
Mortgage REITs
Per our Mortgage REIT Tracker, residential mREITs gained 0.8% and are now higher by 1.4% this week. Commercial mREITs rallied 1.2% today to push their gains to 1.1% this week. Redwood Trust (RWT) gained nearly 2% after it announced that, together with Point, it has completed the first ever securitization backed entirely by residential Home Equity Investment ("HEI") agreements, issuing approximately $146 million of asset backed securities. HEIs are an alternative to Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs) in which the lender acquires a minority stake in the underlying property and is entitled to a percentage of the home's appreciation at the end of the agreement.
REIT Preferreds & Capital Raising
Per the REIT Preferreds & Bond Tracker available to The REIT Forum subscribers, REIT Preferred stocks finished higher by 0.30% today, on average, and have produced total returns this year of roughly 15%. Over in the bond markets, Fitch Ratings affirmed Healthcare Realty's (HR) BBB+ Long-Term Issuer rating with a stable outlook. Fitch Ratings also affirmed and withdrew National Retail's (NNN) BBB+ Long-Term Issuer rating and its BBB- preferred stock rating with a stable outlook for "commercial reasons."
Economic Data This Week
The busy slate of economic data continues on Wednesday when we'll see the critical Consumer Price Index data for September which is expected to show that consumer inflation remained above 5% in September. The Producer Price Index on Thursday, meanwhile, is expected to show that producer costs rose nearly 9% for the month. Finally, on Friday, we'll see Retail Sales data for September which is expected to show a moderation in spending and we'll get the first look at October Consumer Sentiment data following a historic plunge last month.
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Disclosure: Hoya Capital Real Estate advises two Exchange-Traded Funds listed on the NYSE. In addition to any long positions listed below, Hoya Capital is long all components in the Hoya Capital Housing 100 Index and in the Hoya Capital High Dividend Yield Index. Index definitions and a complete list of holdings are available on our website.
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