Fannie Mae finds falling consumer confidence, Treasury launches rental assistance, mall shakeup heats up, Amazon puts $2B toward housing, and Petco is going public.
In Today’s News
Fannie Mae: Consumer Confidence in Housing Falls Again
The Fannie Mae (OTCMKTS: FNMA) Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) fell for the second straight month in December as consumers reported a substantially more pessimistic view of homebuying and home-selling conditions, which drove the relatively large monthly change.
Why it matters: “Good Time to Buy” and “Good Time to Sell” sentiment both fell, reflecting declining confidence in an economy facing months more of pandemic stress. Investors, take note: A continuing hot market is not necessarily a given.
Treasury Launches $25B Rental Assistance Program
The Treasury Department said today it has launched a $25 billion rental assistance program with funds from the $900 billion coronavirus relief package enacted last week.
Why it matters: The faster this money can get to recipients — it has to go through state, local, and tribal governments — the better it will be for cash-strapped tenants and hurting landlords alike.
‘Long Overdue’ Shake-Up of U.S. Malls Heats Up
A Georgia Tech professor who studies such things says 280 U.S. malls have been retrofitted or are in the process of doing so. More than 100 other malls have announced plans to redevelop.
Why it matters: This nice piece of local journalism in the Press -Enterprise goes beyond the Inland Empire to round up a lot of indicators of seismic change happening in the world of suburban malls being converted into something else.
Today on Millionacres
Amazon Pledges $2 Billion for Affordable Housing: What Investors Should Know
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) gets a bad rap as a destroyer of small businesses, so it’s never a bad thing for the online retail giant to attempt to build some local goodwill. And its latest endeavor — trying to build more affordable housing — could accomplish just that.
Why it matters: Millionacres’ Maurie Backman points out that an uptick in affordable housing opens the door to opportunity for real estate investors. There are tax incentives to owning these units, and those are never a bad thing.
Will Petco’s IPO Be Good News for Retail REITs?
Petco, which was once publicly traded and is now private, has announced plans for an initial public offering under the ticker WOOF on the Nasdaq.
Why it matters: Millionacres’ Deidre Woollard explains how this could be good news for real estate investment trust (REIT) investors because more money may mean more stores — or at least a steady stream of funds for the company’s existing operations.
