Soft Landing Secured

Economic Overview - U.S. equity markets showed mixed performance, with the S&P 500 declining by 0.8% and the Small-Cap 600 increasing by 3.6% [3][5] - Benchmark interest rates fell to four-month lows, with the 10-Year Treasury Yield at 4.19% and the 2-Year Treasury Yield at 4.39% [5][6] - The Federal Reserve is expected to begin cutting rates by September, with a 100% probability now priced in for a rate cut [5][6] Real Estate Sector Performance - Real estate equities outperformed, with the Equity REIT Index gaining 0.9% and 10 out of 18 property sectors in positive territory [3][12] - Homebuilders rallied nearly 4% due to solid earnings results and expectations of rate relief, despite disappointing home sales data [3][12] Earnings Season Insights - The earnings season for real estate has shown strong results, with 74% of equity REITs raising their full-year outlook [12][13] - Office REITs reported improved leasing activity, with occupancy rates increasing for the first time in two years [12][15] - Net lease REITs also performed well, with Agree Realty raising its full-year FFO outlook due to record-high occupancy [15] Specific Sector Highlights - The cold storage operator Lineage raised $4.44 billion in an IPO, marking the largest REIT IPO in history [13] - Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) raised its full-year outlook after solid second-quarter results, expecting FFO growth of 1.6% [17] - Digital Realty (DLR) faced a decline of 6% after reporting disappointing results, maintaining its full-year outlook with FFO growth of 1.3% [18] Economic Data Recap - Key economic indicators included a 2.8% annualized GDP growth rate for Q2, a decline in durable goods orders by 6.6%, and a mixed performance in retail sales [7][9] - Existing home sales for June were reported at 3.89 million, below the forecast of 3.99 million [8]