HAUZ - Shutdown Gloom Negates Housing Boom

• U.S. equity markets delivered a mixed week as optimism about forthcoming coronavirus vaccines and stellar housing market data was negated by mounting concerns over cascading coronavirus-induced economic shutdowns.
• While the large-cap indexes posted declines on the week, small-cap and mid-cap indexes each delivered another week of strong gains amid an ongoing post-vaccine "sector rotation" pattern.
• Following a historically strong week for the real estate sector, Equity REITs retreated by 1.0% with 12 of 18 property sectors in negative territory. Mortgage REITs, however, jumped another 4.2%.
• A busy slate of housing data this week indicated that the red-hot housing industry has exhibited few signs of cooling into the winter months. Homebuilder Sentiment, Housing Starts, and Existing Home Sales all topped estimates.
• The booming U.S. housing market has been a boon for not only homebuilders and brokers but also home improvement companies. Home Depot commented that "homes have never been more important" for its customers.

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