Enough Bad News Already!

Brad Thomas

467 postsDecember 18, 2020

New York City and California continue to make the news these last 24 hours thanks to their shutdowns and taxes.

Late yesterday, Bloomberg published a piece titled, “NYC’s Plummeting Real Estate Sales Cost City $1.2 Billion.” And Fox Business reported around the same time that California lost “hundreds of thousands of residents in 2020” to ultimately achieve “record-low population growth” this year.

Now, let’s be real…

As the latter article goes on to say, “The total population currently sits at about 39.78 million people.” So it’s not as if the place is about ready to become a barren wasteland. All the same, it is clear the Golden State is losing some of its shine.

People making those moves can hope to benefit from mortgage rates dropping to yet another new low. In its 15th decrease for the year, the 30-year fixed option fell from 2.71% to 2.67%.

Though that’s probably a better boon for those staying in place. Yahoo! Finance cites experts as saying that “Homeowners are the most likely to benefit from the record low rates if they refinance… while buyers still have to contend with a competitive housing market, eroding the advantages of low rates.”

But enough of the negative or mixed news. We’re one week away from Christmas, so here are some reasons to cheer!

I’ll start with hotels, which have seen a significant bump in bookings since December 11, when the FDA approved Pfizer’s vaccine. There’s a clear case to be made for the placebo effect in this situation, but the results remain merry nonetheless for those hotels still hanging in there this late into such a difficult year.

Some small businesses will also be receiving not-so-secret Santa gifts from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who launched a $500,000 fund to help out mom-and-pop style gyms, restaurants, and bars that have been hit the hardest in this pandemic.

And here’s something even bigger: the so-called “Star of Bethlehem” is making an exceptionally rare appearance this year. On December 21, the winter Solstice, there will be a “great conjunction” (astronomers’ term, not mine) as Jupiter and Saturn appear extremely close together in the night sky.

Forbes Senior Contributor Jamie Carter writes that the two gas giants “tangle… every 19.85 Earth years.” Which makes it no big deal until you know that this “event occurs in the same part of the sky every 800 years or so.” That’s what we’ll be looking at next week, not to mention “the closest great conjunction since July 16, 1623, and the first to be easily observable since March 4, 1226.”

As for why this sight has been deemed the “Star of Bethlehem,” Carter writes that “there have been calculations made about previous great conjunctions… around the same time as the suggested birth of Jesus Christ.”

So yes, in so many ways, this year has felt like one of those cautionary “it could happen to you” tales. But I’m going to take this moment to wish you a very merry Christmas anyway!

It can still happen, believe it or not.

Now Some REIT News…

As a reminder, iREIT on Alpha members get all the breaking REIT news five days a week at around 8:00 a.m. thanks to our partnership with The Daily REITBeat. Here are a few highlights for today…

(Source: The Daily REITBeat)

TD Securities upgraded Digital Realty Trust (DLR) from a hold to a buy while maintaining its already-set $170 price target. And Edward Jones followed suit.

Industrial owner Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. (MNR), meanwhile, bought a new 487,900 square-foot building set on about 100 acres in Plain City, Ohio. The purchase price was $73.3 million, and the property is already net-leased for 15 years to FedEx (FDX).

Staying in that same subsector, Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) closed on two acquisitions:

One in Georgetown, Massachusetts
One in Olympia, Washington. .

Together, they come to approximately 181,000 square feet of industrial space at a cost of $33 million. No big surprise, the company went right ahead and entered into long-term, triple-net lease agreements for them.

A subsidiary of 4Front Ventures Corp. will continue operating the Massachusetts property as a regulated cannabis cultivation, processing, and dispensing facility. And the Washington plot will be subleased to a cannabis license holder for the same purposes (minus dispensing).

We’ve also got double news to share about mall REITs, with Washington Prime Group (WPG) completing its 1-for-9 reverse stock split, which will go into official effect December 22, 2020 prior before the bell.

Tanger (SKT), then, announced that QuestCap and its wholly owned subsidiary, Collection Sites, are now leasing 50 x 100 square feet segments in 33 of its parking lots. This is for an initial six-month term, but it comes with the option to extend and expand this extensive network of Covid-19 testing centers.

It’s an innovative concept, and I look forward to seeing where it is next summer!

Happy Investing

Brad Thomas

467 posts

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Brad Thomas is Senior Research Analyst at iREIT and CEO of Wide Moat Research LLC. With over 30 years of real estate experience, he is also long-time Editor of Forbes Real Estate Investor, a monthly subscription-based newsletter that dives deep into the vast world of profitable properties, and since 2021, he has served as an adjunct professor at New York University.

Thomas has also been featured on or in Forbes magazine, Kiplinger's, U.S. News and World Report, Money, NPR, Institutional Investor, GlobeStreet, CNN, Newsmax, and Fox. And he was the #1 contributing analyst on Seeking Alpha in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 based on both page views and number of followers.

Thomas is the recently-published author of The Intelligent REIT Investor Guide (2021), co-author of The Intelligent REIT Investor (2016), and he wrote The Trump Factor: Unlocking The Secrets Behind The Trump Empire (2016) - all available on Amazon.

Thomas received a bachelor of science in business/economics from Presbyterian College and is married with five wonderful kids.

No Santa Claus Rally Today

REIT Mutual Fund	Symbol
Alpine Realty Income and Growth Fund	AIGYX, AIAGX
American Century Real Estate Fund	REAIX, REACX, AREEX, AREWX, ARYCX, AREDX
Real Estate Securities Fund	MRESX
AR Capital Real Estate Income Fund	ARIAX, ARICX, ARIPX
AssetMark Real Estate Securities Fund	AFREX
Aston/Harrison Street Real Estate Fund	AARIX, ARFCX
Baron Real Estate Fund	BREIX, BREFX
BlackRock Real Estate Securities	BIREX, BAREX, BCREX
Brookfield U.S. Listed Real Estate Fund	BRUAX, BRUCX, BRUIX, BRUYX
CGM Realty Fund	CGMRX
West Loop Realty Fund	REIIX, REIAX, REICX
Cohen & Steers Institutional Realty Shares	CSRIX
Cohen & Steers Realty Income Fund	CSEIX, CSDIX, CSBIX, CSCIX
Cohen & Steers Realty Shares	CSRSX
Columbia Real Estate Equity Fund	CREAX, CREIX, CRRVX, CRERX, CREEX, CRRFX, CREWX, CRECX, CREBX
Compass EMP REC Enhanced Volatility Weighted Fund	CWRAX, CWRIX, CWRTX, CWRCX
Davis Real Estate Fund	RPFRX, DREYX, DRECX, DREBX
Delaware Real Estate Investment Trust Portfolio II	DPRTX, DPRBX
Delaware Real Estate Investment Trust Portfolio	DPREX, DPRSX, DPRRX, DPRCX
DFA Real Estate Securities Portfolio	DFREX
Dunham Real Estate Stock Fund	DAREX, DNREX, DCREX
DWS RREEF Real Estate Securities Fund	RRRRX, RRREX, RRRAX, RRRSX, RRRBX, RRRCX
DWS RREEF Real Estate Securities Income Fund	REFAX, REFCX, REFIX, REFSX
Eaton Vance Real Estate Fund	EAREX, EIREX
EII Realty Securities Fund	EIIRX
Fidelity Advisor Real Estate Fund	FHEIX, FHEAX, FHETX, FHECX, FHEBX
Fidelity Advisor Real Estate Income Fund	FRIRX, FRIQX, FRINX, FRIOX
Fidelity Real Estate Income Fund	FRIFX
Fidelity Real Estate Investment Portfolio	FRESX
Fidelity Spartan Real Estate Index Fund	FSRNX, FRXIX, FSRVX
Fidelity Series Real Estate Equity Fund	FREDX, FREFX
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund	FSREX, FSRWX
Forward Real Estate Long/Short Fund	KSRYX, FRLSX, FFSRX, KSRAX, KSRCX, KSRBX
Forward Real Estate Fund	FPREX, FFREX, KREAX, KRECX
Forward Select Income Fund	KIFYX, FSIMX, FFSLX, KIFAX, KIFBX, KIFCX
Franklin Real Estate Securities Fund	FREEX, FRLAX, FRRSX, FSERX
GMO Real Estate Fund	GMORX
Goldman Sachs Real Estate Securities Fund	GREIX, GRETX, GREAX, GRESX, GRERX, GREBX, GRECX
Great-West Real Estate Fund	MXREX
Heitman REIT Fund	OARTX, OBRTX
ING Real Estate Fund	CRARX, IREWX, IDROX, CLARX, CRWRX, CRCRX, CRBCX
INVESCO Real Estate Fund	REINX, IARFX, IARIX, IARYX, IARAX, IARRX, IARCX, AARBX
Ivy Real Estate Securities Fund	IRSAX, IREIX, IRSYX, IRSRX, IREEX, IRSCX, IRSBX
John Hancock Real Estate Securities Fund	JIREX
Johnson Realty Fund	JRLTX
J.P.Morgan Realty Income Fund	URTLX, JRIRX, URTAX, URTBX, URTCX
J.P. Morgan Security Capital U.S. Core Real Estate Securities Fund	CEEAX, CEERX, CEEFX, CEESX, CEECX
J.P. Morgan U.S. Real Estate Fund	SUSIX
Lazard U.S. Realty Equity Portfolio	LREIX, LREOX
Lazard U.S. Realty Income Portfolio	LRIIX, LRIOX
Manning & Napier Real Estate Series	MNRIX, MNREX
Morgan Stanley Institutional U.S. Real Estate Portfolio	MSUSX, MUSDX, MSULX, MURSX
Natixis AEW Real Estate Fund	NRFAX, NRFYX, NRFBX, NRFCX, NRFNX
Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund	NBRIX, NBRFX, NREAX, NRERX, NRECX, NRREX
Nuveen Real Estate Securities Fund	FREAX, FARCX, FRSSX, FREBX, FRLCX, FREGX
Oppenheimer Real Estate Fund	OREAX, OREIX, OREYX, ORENX, OREBX, ORECX
PHOCAS Real Estate Fund	PHREX
PIMCO RealEstateRealReturn Strategy Fund	PRRSX, PETPX, PETAX, PETDX, PETCX, PETBX
Pioneer Real Estate Shares	PWREX, PYREX, PCREX, PBREX
Principal Real Estate Securities Fund	PIREX, PIRPX, PREPX, PRETX, PREJX, PRRAX, PRERX, PRENX, PRAEX, PRCEX, PRLEX
ProFunds Real Estate UltraSector ProFund	REPIX
Prudential Select Real Estate Fund	SREAX
Prudential U.S. Real Estate Fund	PJEAX, PJEZX, PJECX, PJEBX
REMS Real Estate Income 50/50 Portfolio	RREIX
REMS Real Estate Value-Opportunity Fund	HLRRX, HLPPX
Rydex Real Estate Fund	RYREX, RYHRX, RYCRX
SA Real Estate Securities Fund	SAREX
SEI Institutional Mgd Real Estate Fund	SETAX, SEIRX
Spirit of America Real Estate Income & Growth Fund	SOAAX
SSgA Clarion Real Estate Fund	SSREX
Stratton Real Estate Fund	STMDX
T.Rowe Price Real Estate Fund	TRREX, PAREX
TIAA-CREF Real Estate Securities Fund	TIREX, TRRPX, TRRSX, TCREX
Vanguard REIT Index Fund	VGSNX, VGRSX, VGSLX, VGSIX
Virtus Real Estate Securities Fund	PHRAX, PHRIX, PHRCX, PHRBX

REIT ETF	Symbol
Flex Shares	ASET
Wisdom Tree Global Ex-US	DRW
S&P 500 Equal Weight	EWRE
iShares FTSE Industrial/Office	FNIO
MSCI Real Estate Index	FREL
S&P REIT Index	FRI
First Trust S&P REIT	FRI
iShares Real Estate 50	FTY
Flexshares Global	GQRE
iShares Cohen & Streers	ICF
iShares International Developed RE	IFGL
iShares US RE	IYR
Premium Yield Equity REIT	KBWY
ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leverage	MORL
Market Vector Mortgage	MORT
iShares Global REIT	REET
iShares FTSE Mortgage	REM
iShares Residential	REZ
IQ US Real Estate Small Cap	ROOF
iShares FTSE NAREIT Retail	RTL
DOW Jones Global RE	RWO
SPDR Dow Jones	RWR
Schwab US REIT	SCHH
Super Dividend REIT	SRET
ProShares Ultra RE	URE
Vanguard REIT	VNQ
Vanguard Global ex-US	VNQI
iShares International Developed	WPS
Wilshire US REIT	WREI
Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure RE	SRVR
Pacer Benchmark Industrial RE	INDS
Pacer Benchmark Retail RE	RTL
Hoya Capital Housing	HOMZ
NetLease Corporate RE	NETL

REIT Name	Ticker	Annual Increases/yr
Federal Realty	FRT	51
Universal Health Realty	UHT	33
National Retail Properties	NNN	29
Realty Income	O	27
Tanger Outlets	SKT	26
Urstadt Biddle	UBA	25
Essex Property Trust	ESS	25
W.P.Carey	WPC	22
National Health Investors	NHI	17
Equity Lifestyle	ELS	15
Digital Realty	DLR	15

Enough Bad News Already!

Brad Thomas

467 postsDecember 18, 2020

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Enough Bad News Already!

467 postsDecember 18, 2020

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