Palomar Press Briefing | March 3, 2021

INDUSTRY NEWS

March 3, 2021

2021 OUTLOOK FOR REITS AND COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE: RISK AND RESILIENCE

The outlook for 2021 remains uncertain, in part due to the continuing risks from the coronavirus (as of this writing, new cases of COVID-19 were surging, but three vaccines had been reported to have high success in preventing infection and appear on track to be approved and begin distribution soon).

U.S. RETAIL SALES RISE TO 6.5% TO 8.2% IN 2021, AS COVID VACCINE TRIGGERS TASTEST ECONOMIC GROWTH IN OVER TWO DECADES, NRF SAYS

Retail sales are expected to grow this year between 6.5% and 8.2%, amounting to more than $4.33 trillion in sales, as the U.S. economy begins to reopen and more and more individuals receive the Covid vaccine.

MESSAGE IN A (WORD)CLOUD

2020 was a memorable year where the world, metaphorically, stopped revolving due to the COVID-10 pandemic. Now that the year has passed, market participants are eager to learn what the focus themes were for public companies and their aggregate impact from a sector perspective. From these themes, one can potentially form an eagle-eye view of the year 2020 within the sector of interest.

PREVIOUSLY LEFT FOR DEAD, RURAL RETAIL IS SHOWING ITS RESILIENCE

The coronavirus pandemic’s effects on retail have been devastating, causing a spike in bankruptcies, thousands of store and restaurant closures, and a wave of landlords simply handing back properties to their lenders. But far from the eyes of most commercial real estate investors, a different retail story is playing out.

KIMCO AND BRIXMOR ARE AMONG THE 10 MOST SUSTAINABLE REITS

Two prominent developers of outdoor shopping centers have made Barron’s annual list of the 10 Most Sustainable real estate investment trusts. Kimco Realty Corp. and Brixmor Property Group were ranked at No. 5 and No. 10, respectively, in the accounting performed by Calvert Research & Management.

ONLINE GROCERY SALES IN 2021 WILL SURPASS $100 BILLION, SAYS EMARKETER

Online grocery shopping is moving from a first-time trial to a habit for many U.S. shoppers. That’s according to a report by eMarketer which found that online U.S. grocery sales jumped 54% last year to $95.82 million, giving it a 12.0% share of total U.S. e-commerce sales and 7.4% of all grocery sales.

HOME DEPOT SALES RISE $21B IN ONE YEAR, MORE THAN 19 YEARS OF GROWTH

COVID-19 has confined people to their houses, which has led to a boom in home improvements and created record earnings for Home Depot. In 2020, home improvement sales in the United States amounted to some $400 billion. By 2024, this amount is expected to reach more than $500 billion U.S. dollars, according to data by Statista.