Key releases for real estate investors in the last week of 2014

Key releases for real estate investors in the last week of 2014 (Part 1 of 6)

This week will be relatively quiet due to the holidays

Given the New Year’s holiday, this week will be quiet. The employment situation report is typically released on the first Friday of the month, but it looks like the Department of Labor will wait until next week to release it. For real estate investors, Case-Shiller and pending home sales will be the biggest numbers.

Economic data this week

Here’s a rundown of this week’s economic data:

Monday, December 29, 2014

  • Dallas Fed

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

  • Case-Shiller

  • Consumer confidence

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

  • Mortgage Bankers Association (or MBA) mortgage applications

  • Initial jobless claims

  • Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index

  • Pending home sales

Thursday, January 1, 2014

  • Markets closed

Friday, January 2, 2014

  • ISM Manufacturing

  • ISM Prices Paid

  • Construction spending

Earnings reports this week

There won’t be any real estate–related earnings this week.

Impact on mortgage REITs

Real estate investment trusts (or REITs) such as American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC) and Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NLY) will emphasize data that will move the bond market. For them, nothing this week should be market-moving.

Impact on homebuilders

The big homebuilders like Lennar (LEN) and PulteGroup (PHM) will pay the most attention to pending home sales. The ISM numbers and the Construction Spending numbers will also be important numbers for the homebuilders as well, as construction spending is a huge driver of employment.

Impact on commercial REITs

Mall REITs such as Simon Property Group (SPG) and General Growth Properties (GGP) will pay the most attention to the consumer confidence. Office REITs like Boston Properties (BXP) and SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG) will be interested in the initial jobless claims, ISM data, and also construction spending.

Continue to Part 2

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